Code Lyoko : Second Generation Relapse
by effin emo
Summary: Set thirty years after shutting down the supercomputer, the Lyoko Warrior's kids now attend Kadic when XANA Re-Awakens. The kids think they're the first since their parents to access the Lyoko world. So why is there a boy trapped inside?
1. The Next Generation

Prologue

XANA.

XANA.

XANA.

That's all she was hearing. Why hadn't her parents told her? She should've known that starting up the super computer had been a bad idea. Now this...XANA thing had come back – all thanks to her. She knew that she'd have to tell this to someone. Maybe even report it to the police but as she went through Jeremy Belpois's various video logs, she found herself more and more concerned. XANA was out and all she had to do was shut the super computer down, according to the blonde boy on the screen. XANA needed to be shut down and she would do exactly that.

The pink-haired girl clicked away at the keyboard in front of her and just when she was about to leave, a window popped up. In the window was a boy with spiky, red hair and two-lightning shaped, white marks along each of his temples. He blinked once and looked around. Then he looked right at her with bewildered green eyes.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"Whoa. A form of Artificial Intelligence?" she asked herself.

The pink-haired girl stared at his face and recalled what her father had said about her mother. The pink-haired girl had a feeling that history was about to repeat itself.

"Um, hello?" asked the boy.

"Hello, how did you get in there?"

"Beats me," he answered.

"Well...what's your name?" she asked.

"Uh, I really don't know. What's yours?"

"Anita Schaeffer Belpois. You can call me Annie."

Chapter One

"I'm telling you, I _do_ know what an apple tree looks like!" yelled twelve-year-old Jin Stern.

"Well, then. Give me a detailed description of it's leaves and the shape of it's trunk," said his sister.

"I'm pretty sure it has green leaves and...well, if apples are growing on it then is _has_ to be an apple tree!"

"Ugh, would the two of you shut it?" demanded their eldest sibling.

"Kevin's right, you two. I don't think you'd be in a very cheerful mood when we reach Kadic if you two are constantly fighting," said their father, Ulrich Stern.

"Ha! Believe me. Kadic is the _only_ thing that'll cheer up my day," said Emma.

"Well, we're almost there, so could you and your brother keep it down?" asked their mom, Yumi.

"Kay, mom," they said in unison.

"Hey, Kev. Are you still in that band...Code Blockers?" asked Ulrich.

"It's Code _Breakers, _dad," said Kevin.

"Sorry, son. I get the names mixed up with Emma's favorite band, Call Blockers," he apologized.

Emma rolled her eyes. So did Kevin.

"Yeah, we'll be performing at the Christmas Dance in December," he informed him.

"Can we chaperon?" asked Yumi.

"Absolutely not!" yelled all three of her children.

"Fine, fine. No need to be so sensitive," she said.

The Sterns finally came to a stop in front of Kadic Academy and instantly, they all cheered up and got out of the car. Well, Emma and Jin cheered up. Kevin, more or less, smiled. They got their things and headed for their dorm rooms after hugging their dad and kissing their mother on the cheek.

"Bye!" their parents called out before getting into the car.

"Do you think they'll find out?" asked Yumi.

"Knowing them and the fact that _Jeremy's_ kid is attending Kadic, I'd say we're in for another relapse of deja vu."

Kevin was lying on his bed, listening to Linkin Park when the door was thrown open with a loud _bang_! He groaned, knowing who had just entered.

"Hey, Aaren," he greeted quietly, sitting up and taking out one ear bud, letting the other blast 'Forgotten' into his left ear.

"It's Ray," argued the blonde.

"No. It's Aaren," said Kevin.

"Then you're 'Dice'," said Aaren.

"No. I'm Kevin."

"Fine then. Be that way," huffed the pointy-haired teen.

"I am," he retorted.

Aaren stared at him angrily.

"It's still Aaren. Aaren Della Robbia."

"Whatever. Just help me with my luggage," he ordered.

"Did you bring that mutt with you?" asked Kevin.

"Kiwi 2.0's with Jace this time," he said.

"Jace is here?" asked Kevin, suddenly interested,

"She's down in the cafeteria with Mina, Emma and Annie."

"Bye, dude," said Kevin, rushing out the door.

"Oh, great. Now how am I supposed to get this stuff in here?" Aaren asked to no one in particular.

Silence.

"Oh, well. Hi-ho. Hi-ho. It's off to work we go..."

"I can't believe he dumped her like that," exclaimed the tiny brunette.

"You know how my brother is," said Mina Dunbar.

"But over the _phone_? That's harsh," said Annie.

"Well, it's _Jacob_. What did you expect?" asked Jace Della Robbia, running a hand through her purple-highlighted black locks.

"Nothing! Can we move on to another subject now?" begged Caleb.

The girls ignored Annie's brother and continued talking.

"I'd have expected for him to at least tell her face-to-face," said Emma in a disappointed tone.

"Well, he'd have to grow up first before _that_ happened," said Mina.

Emma frowned. She really liked Jacob, why'd he have to go and give her friends another reason not to trust him? She looked up and saw her older brother approaching them. Emma knew he had a crush on Jace. So did everyone else; even Jace! The sad thing was that he never did anything about it and Jace was too shy to really give him any hints. She may be headstrong but she met her match when it came to romance. Emma sighed. Kevin wasn't the only one who liked Jace. Jacob did, too. Emma wanted to believe that he liked her, too, but he never gave her any hints. She almost laughed. Her she was, mocking her brother when she was exactly the same.

"Hey, guys," said Kevin, taking the seat next to Caleb. "How was summer?"

"Boring."

"Good."

"Alright."

"Interesting."

"You should know. You're my brother."

Kevin looked at each of them.  
"Awesome," he said sarcastically, his enthusiasm suddenly gone.

Being around Jace made him suddenly quiet. Well, quieter than usual.

"How about you? Found that special someone yet?" asked Mina.

"Thought I did. Didn't really work out," he replied.

Jace looked down at her food. Jacob suddenly came walking their way.

"Hey, Stern," he greeted, putting his hand on Kevin's shoulder.

"If you want to keep that hand, I suggest you remove it from my shoulder," he warned.

Jacob did as he was told.

"Hey, Jace. Hey, Emma," he greeted the two girls.

"Hey."

"Hi, Jake."

He smiled and looked at Jace then at Caleb and Kevin.

"Soccer meeting. Today at 5:30. Don't miss it or your off the team," said Jacob just before he left.

They watched as he left, bumping into an approaching Aaren on his way out.

"Why do you have to be so mean to him?" demanded Emma.

"Why do you have to be so nice to him?" retorted Kevin.

"It's just the way I am."

"It's just the way _I_ am."

"Alright, you habituating habitating nincompoops. Get off each other's backs," ordered Aaren as he sat down next to Jace.

"What do you just call us?" Emma asked icily.

"I believe he called the two of us idiots that only get more idiotic as time passes," said Kevin.

Emma threw her right hand into Aaren's ribcage, causing him to groan in pain.

"Ouch, Emma. What the hell?"

"Call me a nincompoop again and you'll be throwing up your stomach," she warned him.

"Aw, jeez. You punch harder than Caleb," he said in a pained voice.

"Hey!"

"Okay, maybe Jace," Aaren amended.

"Watch it," warned his sister.

He scoffed.

"So when is practice, Mina?" he asked.

"Tomorrow at nine," she replied automatically.

"Yes! It's good to have the band back together! Do you still have your drums, Kevin?" he asked his friend.

Kevin just looked at him like he was stupid or something.

"Alright...Annie?"

The pink-haired beauty jumped in her seat. She had been spacing out.

"Huh? What?"

"Practice. At nine. Tomorrow," he told her.

"Uh, yeah. I gotta go," she said, rushing out the cafeteria.

"Um, did I say something?" asked Aaren.

"I don't know. She's been like that all morning," said Emma.

"What? Did she see your face and get sick?" asked Kevin sarcastically.

"No. She saw yours," she answered back.

"Yeah, after she smelled your breath," he retorted.

"Does my breath stink?" she asked Mina, breathing into her face.

Mina shook her head.

"I don't know what's wrong with her. She's been acting weird all morning," said Mina.

"Maybe we should follow her," suggested Jace.

Mina shook her head.

"Maybe after class but we need to get to first period," she told them just as the bell rang.

"Bye."

"See ya'."

"Later."

"See you in break."

"Adios."

"Ciao."

A/N: Okay, the next page will be the primary and secondary characters so that'll be up probably by tomorrow and after that will be Chapter Two...or I might actually name it Chapter Three depending on how I feel.

Here's the update rubric(and I know that Code Lyoko isn't so popular these days so I'll make an exception):

1-3 reviews = 4 days

4-6 reviews = 3 days

7-10 reviews = 1-2 days

11 and up = Tomorrow

Please review! XD


	2. CHARACTERS

Characters:

Aaren Ray Delmas Della Robbia

Age: 15

Grade: 8th

Hair Style/Color: Dirty blonde. Short.

Height: 5'3"

Description: Although short for his age, Aaren has no problem performing any type of sport. He's won six trophies: two for skateboarding, one for snowboarding and three for soccer. He practices boxing by himself and Tai Kwon Do with his best friends, Kevin Stern and Caleb Belpois and is the goalie for Kadic's soccer team despite his height. He's well-known for his sarcastic remarks and pranks on the school staff. He plays the drums, guitar and pan flute and enjoys singing. He's the guitarist and a back-up singer of the band, 'Code Breakers'. Very popular. Has a liking towards Mina Dunbar.

Jasmine 'Jace' Raine Delmas Della Robbia

Age: 14

Grade: 8th

Hair Style/Color: Black with purple highlights. Up to shoulder blades.

Height: 5'2"

Description: Older daughter of Odd Della Robbia and Elisabeth Delmas and sister to Lizzy Della Robbia. Is serious most of the time but has a sense of humor. Loves to listen to music and draw pictures of her dog, Kiwi 2.0. Jace speaks French, English and Japanese. She enjoys skateboarding and has won two skateboarding competitions. Jace practices Pencak Silat, Tai Kwon Do and Muay Thai with her brother, Caleb Belpois and Kevin Stern. She's also the only girl on the soccer team. Father's favorite because she's unique, like him. Semi-popular. Has a liking towards Kevin Stern.

Eliza 'Lizzy' Lila Delmas Della Robbia

Age: 13

Grade: 8th

Hair Style/Color: Black with blonde highlights. Short.

Height: 5'2"

Description: Younger daughter of Odd Della Robbia and Elisabeth Delmas and sister to Jace Della Robbia. Sarcastic and demanding but has a soft side for Jacob Dunbar, William's son. Instead of cheer leading like her mother, Lizzy prefers volleyball and cares too much about her looks. Mother favors her because she thinks she's a lot prettier than Jace. Lizzy speaks French and English. Popular among guys but many people don't like her because she's dumber than cardboard.

Kevin Daisuke Ishiyama Stern

Age: 15

Grade: 9th

Hair Style/Color: Black, mid-length. Tied back into a low ponytail.

Height: 5'7"

Description: Older son of Ulrich Stern and Yumi Ishiyama. Being quiet and mysterious like his father, combined with his good looks, Kevin is a very sought-after boy in Kadic Academy and has been named the school's 'Most Eligible Bachelor' and 'Most Popular Boy' by the school's newspaper, the Kadic Herald. He practices Pencak Silat like the rest of his family and also practices Muay Thai and Tai Kwon Do with his best friends, Caleb Belpois and Aaren Della Robbia along with Jace Della Robbia on occasion. He gets good grades like his mother before him, easily maintaining a 4.0 GPA. He prefers listening to rock music and always wears a black shirt with Linkin Park's symbol on it over a green undershirt. Kevin speaks six different languages: French, English, Japanese, German, Indonesian and Latin. Has a liking towards Jace Della Robbia. He's also the drummer for Code Breakers and is a member of Kadic's soccer team. Extremely popular.

Emma Lynn Ishiyama Stern

Age: 14

Grade: 8th

Hair Style/Color: Short and brown with side bangs.

Height: 5'4"

Description: Daughter of Ulrich Stern and Yumi Ishiyama. Unlike her parents, Emma is very outgoing and always has a date to every dance. She loves playing her keyboard and drums and has an obsession with computers. Emma is Anita Belpois's best friend who she, ironically, shares the same second name with. Tends to 'school' teachers in science and mathematics though. Has been named 'Most Eligible Bachelorette' by the Kadic Herald. Like her family, she practices Pencak Silat and speaks Japanese, French and English. Has a liking towards Jacob Dunbar. Very popular.

Jin Ishiyama Stern

Age: 12

Grade: 6th

Hair Style/Color: Spiky and black.

Height: 5'2"

Description: Son of Ulrich Stern and Yumi Ishiyama. Like his father, he has a hard time in class yet still manages a 3.5 GPA because he works so hard. Practices Pencak Silat and speaks in Japanese, French and English. Likes to play jokes on his sister and teases his brother 'emo'. Semi-popular

Anita "Annie" Lynn Schaeffer Belpois

Age: 14

Grade: 8th

Hair Style/Color: Pink and long up to her knees.

Height: 5'4"

Description: Daughter of Jeremy Belpois and Aelita Schaeffer and sister to Caleb Belpois. Incredibly talented with computers and Emma Stern's best friend. She plays keyboard – like Emma – and gets her sound-mixing talents from her mother, Aelita, who is the backup DJ for the Subdigitals. She's a beginner in Tai Kwon Do but has a black belt in Muay Thai. Has a liking towards Jasper De Luna. She's the keyboardist for Code Breakers. Has been named 'Most Popular Girl' by the Kadic Herald but she hates all the attention. Extremely popular.

Caleb Reno Schaeffer Belpois

Age: 15

Grade: 9th

Hair Style/Color: Blonde and messy.

Height: 5'7"

Description: Son of Jeremy Belpois and Aelita Schaeffer and brother to Annie Belpois. Like his family, he is talented with computers and enjoys reading. Incredibly serious and is a mid-fielder on the soccer team. Practices Jujutsu, Pencak Silat, Muay Thai and Tai Kwon Do. Has a girlfriend in America named Kate. Caleb speaks French, Japanese and English. Occasionally sings back up for the Code Breakers. Semi-popular.

Jacob Jake Savorani Dunbar

Age: 15

Grade: 9th

Hair Style/Color: Unusually navy blue and falls around his face, giving him a skater look.

Height: 5'7"

Description: Son of William Dunbar and Caroline Savorani and twin brother to Mina Dunbar. Captain of the soccer team and prankster of the school. Loves to skateboard and has won three local championships. Plays guitar and enjoys slow rock. Has been named the school's 'Playboy' by the Kadic Herald. Has a liking towards Emma Stern and Jace Della Robbia. Very popular but not as much as Kevin even though he's the captain.

Mina Lei Savorani Dunbar

Age: 15

Grade 9th

Hair Style/Color: Unusually navy blue that reaches up to her waist.

Height: 5'1"

Description: Daughter of William Dunbar and Caroline Savorani and twin sister to Jacob Dunbar. Although she's half a foot shorter than him, Jacob fears her because she has unnatural ways of destroying his things when he pisses her off. Mina has an uncanny ability of 'knowing' – meaning she can guess future events quite accurately. She plays volleyball with Lizzy but doesn't like her because of her childish attitude. She's well-practiced in Tai Kwon Do and Pencak Silat. She's the lead singer of Code Breakers. Semi-popular.

Jasper De Luna

Age: 14

Grade: (Later in the story) 8th

Hair Style/Color: Red and spiky

Height: 5'6"

Description: Name unknown at the beginning of the story. Like Aelita, was trapped inside Lyoko when his friend accidentally virtualized him into Lyoko twenty years ago. Has no memory of his past. At first, thought to be some form of Artificial Intelligence. He enjoys listening to classical music and pop.

Draco Trevelyan

Age: 35

Grade: None.

Hair Style/Color: White and long, in a ponytail.

Height: 5'11"

Description: Civics and Geography teacher at Kadic. Continually dogs after Kevin and his gang because he is suspicious.

A/N: Yeah, so that's the basics for now. Next chapter, you'll get to meet all the characters(except for Jasper. He's in the third/fourth chapter). I hope you find this helpful! Review!

There's no rubric for this chapter. I'll update soon.


	3. The Genius and the Confession

Chapter Two

"Everyone, take your seats and class will begin!" called out Kadic's newest teacher, Mr. Draco Trevelyan.

Aaren and Kevin walked to their seats at the back of the class. Many girls winked at both of them and one girl even mouthed out 'Call Me' to Kevin as he walked towards his seat. He had to stop himself from shuddering. Kevin and Aaren took their seats next to each other. Kevin usually picked the corner of the room or the back because he hated being at the center of attention. There was a loud banging sound as the teacher dropped his giant red binder on top of his desk.

"Good morning, children. My name is Draco Trevelyan but you may call me 'Draco'. I will be your new Civics and Geography teacher. Now, we will start the day off with a diagnostic test containing all the material you will be learning this year. So let's get started."

Half the class groaned and Draco passed out the 32-question test and walked back up to the front of the class.

"Alright, you may begin. Some of you may not finish today but that's alright! Everyone moves at their own pace and you will have thirty minutes to answer these questions. You will see a lot of questions on places such as India, Germany and America on your test and you may not know many of them but-"

"Done," said Kevin.

Everyone let out a low 'whoa'. Half of them hadn't even started on their tests and he was already done! Draco walked over to Kevin's seat and looked over his answers.

"Well, it looks like we've got a genius in our class, children. No one's ever gotten a hundred on my test before. May I know your name, son?" asked Draco.

"Kevin Stern. The test wasn't that difficult," he muttered.

"His IQ is 146. So technically...yeah, he _is_ a genius," Aaren informed him.

"Well, well. It'll be a pleasure teaching a genius something he already knows," said Draco.

Kevin shrugged and ran a hand through his hair.

"Whatever."

A shrill, high-pitched noise ran out through the Gym as the teacher, Pete Morales, blew the whistle.

"Okay, all you little delinquents, today, we'll be doing track and field. You'll get into groups of three and race each other around the field until you reach the finish line at the end of the track," he told them.

Pete called out the list of names and told everyone who they would be going up against. Jace, Annie and Emma were all on the same team.

"Aw, that's not fair. We all know Jace is going to win!" complained Emma.

"What's not fair is that you're not even _trying_ to beat me. There's no competition," she said.

"Yeah, right!"

"Your _brother_ would be a better competitor than you," said Jace.

"Just because you _like_ him? Come on, Jace! You know he likes you, too. When are you going to tell him? A guy like him isn't going to wait around forever," Emma told her.

"Can we change the subject?"

"Fine, them. Annie, what's your problem?" Emma huffed out.

"Huh?" asked the pinky.

"You've been in a daze ever since we came back. What's up?" she asked.

"It's nothing," Annie said.

"Don't lie. We've been friends for six years, don't try to fool us 'cause it never works," said Jace.

"It's not my secret to tell," she replied.

"Oh, yeah. That so does _not_ make me curious," Emma said sarcastically.

"Go back to talking about your boyfriends," she retorted.

"More like _lack_ of," muttered Jace.

"Tell me, Annie!" Emma nearly yelled, shaking her best friend's shoulders.

"I can't!"

"Are you serious?" asked Jace.

Annie hung her head.

"I'm just not sure if it would be...prudent to tell you guys. You guys might get in trouble," she told them.

Emma sighed and put her hands on her hips.

"For the last time, we're _best_ friends, Annie! We're stuck to you like glue so you might as well include us because secrets aren't tolerated in this group," she said firmly.

Annie thought carefully for a moment.

"Alright. Just the two of you, no one else," she said.

"Agreed," they said in unison.

"And just what are you nerds up to?" came a high-pitched unpleasant voice.

All three instantly recognized the sarcastic tone of the girl who had just insulted them. All three turned towards the little girl and her group of friends. She was Jace's height with the same black hair but with the exception of blonde highlights. Like the rest of them, she was in her Gym clothes, white shorts and a yellow tank top. Jace folded her arms across her chest.

"Hello, little sister. You're in your usual foul mood today," she observed.

Lizzy Della Robbia snorted.

"Only because I have to see _your_ face in school everyday. I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Be careful, Jasmine. Momma might choose to send you somewhere else if you 'get in trouble'," she said slyly.

Jace scowled at her sister. She hated it when Lizzy called her by her first name. She hated even more when her little sister poked her little nose in Jace's business.

"I'll take that into consideration before I do anything reckless," she answered, sarcasm dripping in her voice.

Lizzy scoffed and walked away, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she left.

"I hate your sister," said Emma.

"You're not the only one," said Jace.

"So about this secret..." Emma said, looking at Annie.

"I'll show you guys after Jace's soccer meeting," she said.

"Stern! Belpois! Della Robbia! You're up!"

They walked towards the starting line and go into position.

"Ready?" asked Pete.

They gave him a thumbs-up. Jace smiled.

"See you guys at the finish line."

The whistle blew and they took off.

Later that day...

"Okay, team. Listen up," ordered the captain.

"Aw, do we really have to do this Jake?" asked Aaren.

"Shut it, Della Robbia."

"Okay, Dunbar," he retorted in a sarcastic tone.

Half the team laughed.

"As I was saying, some of you may not make the team again this year. We'll be having tryouts this year as maybe some new kid will be slightly better than one of you. I don't know much-"

"No kidding," interrupted Aaren.

Some players laughed. Jacob glared at the blonde but resumed his lecture.

"What I was saying was that I _do_ know that I might not be seeing some of your faces back on the field this season. So practice, work harder and maybe some of you should grow a few inches," he said, directing the last part at Aaren.

"Nah, I'm long enough there but thanks for your concern!"

The players burst into hysterics but Jace, Kevin and Jacob all had disgusted looks on their faces.

"Ugh. Dismissed."

"Did you seriously have to play that line?" asked Kevin.

"It seemed appropriate at the time," said Aaren.

"There was nothing 'appropriate' about that phrase, at _all_. Oh, you're just saying that 'cause you're a girl and you think it's gross. Kevin here doesn't mind it, do you Kevin?"

"You're asking the wrong person, bud," he answered.

"Jeez, no support from anyone these days," Aaren exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

Jace looked up and saw Annie and Emma waving at her.

"Guys,I gotta go," she said, running towards her friends.

Annie seemed worried and Emma looked excited and frightened at the same time.

"They look like they're up to something," said Aaren.

"I am _not_ spying on my sister and her friends," Kevin said, narrowing his eyes at his room mate.

Aaren laughed.

"Well, I am. Whether or not you want to follow is your problem," he answered, jogging after the three girls.

Kevin sighed and ran after his friend. _Someone_ had to keep them out of trouble.

"Just why does that someone always have to be me?" he asked himself.

None of them noticed the two figures, clad in black, following them.

A/N: Ooh, suspense? Maybe? Maybe not? Review! I'm working on the third chapter so please review if you want to see it posted up sooner. I don't care if you're the same person reviewing over and over again under different user names. I'd just like to hear your opinions.

Please tell me if you like it or hate it or want me to add something or modify a character. I live to please so...REVIEW!

Here's the update rubric(and I know that Code Lyoko isn't so popular these days so I'll make an exception):

1-3 reviews = 4 days

4-6 reviews = 3 days

7-10 reviews = 1-2 days

11 and up = Tomorrow

Please review! XD


	4. Explanation

Chapter Three

Kevin and Aaren followed the three girls to the forest and saw them go down a manhole.

"This is stupid," whispered Kevin.

"Look, my sister would _not_ go down into a sewer unless she knew something was up. Just trust me on this one," Aaren whispered back.

Kevin was not reassured. When they were sure that the girls were a ways ahead of them, they climbed down the ladder and found two skateboards along the sidewalk (A/N: I have no idea what to call that thingy at the side of the sewer where you can walk on so I'll just call it a sidewalk). They each grabbed one and followed the fading sounds of wheels rolling against cement. They had to brake when they saw Annie, Emma and Jace standing under another ladder, talking.

"So this Lyoko place is basically another world?" asked Emma.

Annie nodded.

"And there's someone trapped inside Lyoko with no memory of how he got there and you want us to go inside?" asked Jace.

"Yeah. There are scanners on the floor right below the room holding the supercomputer. If you go into the scanners, you can be virtualized into Lyoko to deactivate the towers," explained Annie.

Kevin felt like it was time to announce themselves.

"You guys sound like you're talking about something dangerous. I want in," he said.

The girls all jumped when they saw him step out of the shadows.

"Me, too," said Aaren, raising his hand, making himself known.

"What the hell are you idiots doing here?" Jace grounded out.

"Following you, obviously. Some thing's not right and we want to know what's going on," Aaren demanded.

"Well, I'm not telling either of you," said Annie.

"Then you're not going anywhere," said Kevin, approaching the girls.

Jace stood in his path, her face was level with his collarbone. Kevin looked down at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Stay out of it, Kev," she said.

Kevin scoffed.

"Not a chance."

"Just tell us, Annie," said Aaren.

Anita shook her head.

"I can't."

"Annie. Tell them," came a sudden voice.

All five of them turned around to see Caleb and Mina walking towards them. They were both wearing black jackets over black tank tops and black sweat pants.

"You followed us?" asked Aaren.

"We were going to ask you guys if you wanted to spar but you all started running off so we ran after you," explained Mina.

"How much did you guys hear?" Annie asked Kevin and Aaren.

"Enough," said Kevin, looking directly at Jace.

"You don't know anything," she told him.

"Well, they deserve to. Our parents were one of the original Lyoko Warriors. They have a legacy to live up to," said Caleb.

"How the hell do you know about Lyoko?" Annie demanded.

"It's something called 'hacking'," he said matter-of-factly.

"You _hacked_ my computer?" she asked angrily.

"More or less. I already knew about Lyoko first than you. I heard mom and dad talking about it a few years ago when they were discussing grandpa's death. They talked about XANA, Lyoko, the fighting and all the things that happened to them. Mom was adamant about the supercomputer remaining dormant. When you got all secretive I decided to do some detective work," he explained.

"You mean 'hacker' work," she retorted.

"Either way, you shouldn't have kept it from me in the first place," argued Caleb.

"You're the hypocrite. If you already knew about this why didn't _you_ say anything about it?" asked Annie.

"Because I didn't understand it until you started up the damn computer! Now XANA's out and we can't even shut down the supercomputer because you were stupid enough to wake up some poor soul trapped inside Lyoko and we can't shut it down or else he stays in there forever!" yelled Caleb.

"Caleb, calm down," said Mina, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Caleb breathed in and looked at his sister. She looked like she was going to cry.

"This is stupid," he muttered.

"No, it's not. It's dangerous and reckless but not stupid. If we don't find a way to materialize 'Brock', XANA can find new ways to torture the world," argued Annie.

"Um, care to explain what the hell you guys are talking about?" asked Aaren.

Annie looked at Caleb and his expression moved from angry to slightly amused. He chuckled.

"'Brock'? Are you serious?" he asked, pressing his lips together to keep from laughing.

"Oh, shut up."

"Can we just cut to the chase?" asked Kevin.

"There's a virtual world called Lyoko and there's a virus named XANA that can control electronics. 'He' wants to conquer the world and the only way to stop him is to go into Lyoko and deactivate the towers which are located in different sectors of Lyoko," Annie said quickly.

Kevin scoffed.

"That kind of stuff only exists in science fiction," he said.

"Well, why don't I show you?" she challenged.

"Bring it."

"Okay. You brought it," Kevin admitted when he saw the giant supercomputer that revolved around the bright, yellow core.

"Told you," Annie said in a satisfied tone.

Kevin shrugged her off and took a look at the glowing sphere that signified Lyoko (A/N: if I'm wrong, sue me. No one's perfect). Aaren reached out to touch it when Annie slapped his hand.

"Don't touch it, you idiot," she scolded him.

"Wow. You're a rotten little eighth-grader aren't you?" inquired Aaren.

Annie was tempted to give him the finger. Instead, she got into the seat in front of the supercomputer and began clicking away. The others all gathered around her to see what she was doing when a window popped up. The red-haired boy in the screen blinked once before looking through all the unfamiliar faces.

"Hello, Annie. May I ask who these people are?" he requested.

"These are my friend here in the real world. Aaren and Jace Della Robbia. Kevin and Emma Stern. Mina Dunbar and my brother, Caleb Belpois," she told him, pointing them out.

"It's nice to meet you," he said politely.

"Cool," said Aaren.

"What's with the whole lightning tattoo thing along his temples?" asked Emma.

"I really don't know. My mother had a funky look when she was in Lyoko, too. A long time ago, my father created a materialization program that brought my mother back to the real world but it's been corrupted over time and I've only got some of the data from the original program. It'll take me a while to recreate it and materialize Brock," explained Annie.

"Seriously, that's a retarded name. Don't use it," said Caleb.

"Well, I can't exactly be calling him 'Artificial Intelligence', can I?" she answered back.

"I like Evan," said Emma.

"Well, it's not really your choice. It's...Brock's," said Annie.

"I like Evan. Sorry but Brock doesn't really sound like me," said the redhead.

"I still like Brock," muttered Annie.

"Okay, now that we got the whole name thing down, can we please move on to the whole reason Lyoko exists?" asked Kevin.

"Well, it's a second world. A virtual one. XANA uses the towers as passageways into the real world so that he can inflict damage _here,_" explained Annie.

"Charming," Jace said sarcastically.

"If a person goes through the scanners, he or she can be virtualized on Lyoko to fight XANA and deactivating the tower. It's the only way to stop him."

"Sounds easy," said Aaren.

"Actually, it isn't. XANA can create monsters in both our world and Lyoko to stop us from stopping _him_. Lyoko is the only way to stop him," concluded Annie.

"So why don't we just shut it down?" asked Emma.

"Hm. Maybe, because there's a human being living inside of it," said Caleb.

"But I thought you said Evan was just an A.I.," said Emma.

"Well, my father thought that my mother was, too. There's a great chance that Evan could actually be an actual human being trapped in Lyoko," said Annie.

"Guys?"

Everyone looked at the screen. Evan was staring at his surroundings.

"I feel weird pulsations inside this tower thing," he told them.

There was a beeping sound and the image of a cylinder-shaped object suddenly popped up on screen.

"What's that?" asked Aaren.

Annie's eyes widened.

"Guys, get ready. XANA has just activated a tower."

Tell me what you think! Review!

Rubric remains the same.

Review!


	5. Lyoko

A/N: I'd like to thank the TWO people who have continuously commented on my story so far! Come on! Only two? Seriously? However, there is ONE person who has commented on every single chapter (he's also a really great story writer! Check him out!) I've written so 'Tsunamix', this chapter is dedicated to you!

Chapter 4

Back at Kadic...

"This is ridiculous."

Jacob Dunbar was currently sitting in the waiting room in front of the principle's office, waiting to be called on by Mr. Delmas. The kid next to him looked like he was about to cry.

"What are _you_ here for?" he asked.

"I tripped and knocked Ms. Hertz's computer of her desk," he said nervously.

"Hm. I kicked a ball to Pete's head," he answered without remorse.

"Jacob Dunbar! The principle will see you now," called the secretary.

He got off his seat and went into Mr. Delmas's office. The principle was standing near the window, looking outside.

"Take a seat, son," he ordered.

Jacob obliged and sat down.

"You kicked a soccer ball towards Pete's head," said Mr. Delmas.

"Yup," Jacob answered.

The principle looked surprised that Jacob had admitted it so quickly.

"And you're not even going to deny it?" he asked.

"What's the point in lying?" he replied.

Mr. Delmas raised both his eyebrows.

"Well, I've got to give a few points for honesty. I _was_ going to give you five days worth of detention but I'll just shorten it to three days," he amended.

"Wow, thanks, Mr. Delmas," Jacob said sarcastically.

"You're welcome, Mr. Dunbar," he answered, not noticing the sarcasm.

Jacob got up to leave but was interrupted by Mr. Delmas's voice.

"Jacob, do you know Mr. Kevin Stern?" he asked.

Jacob turned around.

"Well, yeah. He's on the soccer team. Why?"

"So, I take it you know Caleb Belpois and his sister, Anita?"

Jacob stared at Mr. Delmas.

"Yeah," he said slowly.

Mr. Delmas laughed. It sounded strange, distorted.

"Well, then."

He looked at Jacob and Jacob backed away. There were weird symbols in his eyes and he looked demented. Jacob turned to leave but Delmas beat him to it, placing his hand on Jacob's shoulder.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere, Mr. Dunbar. At least, not until help arrives."

"So what exactly do we do?" asked Kevin.

Annie clicked away at the keyboard.

"Get into the scanners," she ordered.

"The scanners? And then what?" asked Aaren.

"You get virtualized," she said matter-of-factly.

"Are you serious?" asked Jace.

She nodded.

"I'd go with you if I could but-"

"You can, Annie."

The pinkette looked up at her older brother.

"Then who's gonna run the computer?" she asked.

"I looked through dad's old stuff and there was a manual on what to do," he said, pulling out a giant book from his bag.

He opened it and it had all kinds of procedures and codes.

"I'll run it from here while you guys fight XANA," he assured her.

She looked uncertain for a moment before removing her earpiece and getting up from the chair. Caleb took her spot and fixed the earphone into his ear and adjusted the microphone.

"You guys can get in." he told them.

They started towards the ladder that led to the scanner room when Mina's phone went off.

"Hello?"

"Principle's gone nuts. Get someone over he-"

Her brother's voice was cut off by a loud yell then the line went dead.

"Who was that?" asked Emma.

"Annie? Can XANA possess people?" Mina asked.

"It's a possibility. Why?" she inquired.

"I think Jake's being attacked by the principle," she said, running to wards the elevator.

She pushed the button and waited impatiently for it to come down. A hand on her shoulder calmed her down. She turned around and saw Aaren staring at her.

"You get into the scanner. I'll go," he assured her.

She stared at him. He looked away when the elevator door opened.

"Get going," he ordered as he stepped inside, pressing the buttons.

Mina ran after the others as the door shut behind her. When she go there, the four of them looked concerned.

"Aaren's taking care of it," she told them.

They nodded and took a look at the scanners.

"So who goes in first?" asked Emma.

"I think that Kevin and I should go first," said Annie.

"Whatever floats your boat," said Kevin.

Caleb's voice came blasting out of the intercom.

"Get into the scanners so I can virtualize you into Lyoko," he said.

Kevin and Annie each got into one of the three scanners. The doors closed and they waited for the process to begin.

Caleb pressed a few keys and the process began.

"Transfer Kevin. Transfer Annie."

Wind was blown through the scanners. Caleb clicked away. Two ID cards showed up on the computer screen. One has a pink X on it, the other had a red hand.

"Scanner Kevin. Scanner Annie."

The two teens watched curiously as they floated upwards and the 'halo' moved up and down the giant cylinder, scanning them.

"Virtualization."

They each closed their eyes as a huge gust of wind flew upwards and they were engulfed in bright light.

Kevin landed heavily on his feet with a loud 'Oof!' He hadn't been expecting a crash landing. The same thing happened to Annie as she fell. They both got to their feet.

"I'm gonna have to get used to that," he muttered.

"Oh, so this is what you look like."

They both turned around to see the very same red-haired boy from the screen. He wore a tight-fitting red suit with a lightning bolt across the middle. His hands, though, were what shocked them the most. They were enormous, easily ten times the size of any hand. They were red and looked, rock-solid. Evan caught them staring at them.

"Yeah, I was surprised, too. I'm assuming they're some sort of weapon. Well, don't waste your time staring at me. I'm not the only one with extraordinary attire. Look at each other," he suggested.

Kevin looked at Annie and was surprised by what he saw. She was wearing a dark pink dress that ended mid-thigh over a very light pink material that covered her entire body except for her hands and head. Her hair was tied into two thick pigtails that flared out around her, defying gravity. On her left ear was a red, sphere-shaped earring and she had three pink whiskers tattooed on each cheek.

"Whoa."

"Look at yourself," she told him.

Kevin looked down at himself and had to stop himself from falling over.

"Holy crap."

He had a tight-fitting suit similar to Evan's but it was dark green with giant, black claw marks along the sides. His shoes were black and when he felt his head, there was a head band wrapped around it. He assumed it was green. His hands were covered in dark, green gloves with silver, metal dots covering the back and front of each hand.

"Nice hair," he complimented Annie.

"You, too. You should spike it out more often," she suggested.

"Huh?"

He felt the back of his head and came into contact with multiple, pointed spikes. (A/N: Kinda looks like Sasuke's from Naruto. Hehe...)

"Cool."

"Took the words right out of my mouth," said Evan.

"So where's my weapon?" he asked.

"I don't really know," said Annie.

"Caleb? Where are you? Can you hear me?"

Kevin looked around but he didn't see his friend anywhere.

"I'm not, technically, in Lyoko but I can speak to you through the microphone," Caleb's voice explained.

It sounded like he was talking right in Kevin's ear.

"Hm."

"I'm virtualizing Jace, Mina and Emma. They should be there soon."

As if on Que, the three girls materialized in mid-air and came falling to the earth. Kevin ran and managed to catch Jace and Mina with each hand and somehow managed to balance Emma on his knee. He marveled at this feat. It seems that he was a lot stronger here on Lyoko. He set each girl down and they all looked at each other.

Emma was wearing a short, white kimono that had a giant yellow ribbon wrapped around her waist and her hair tied into a tight bun with a long yellow ribbon that fell down to her knees. In her hand, she was holding a giant, folded, white fan.

Mina had a black bandanna tied around her head and it had a crescent moon in the middle. She had on a black and white striped shirt along with long, black pants, boots and black gloves with the tips cut off. Hanging from a sheath, around her waist, was a three-foot-long, four-inch-wide and one-inch-thick blade with a black handle.

Jace had on what seemed to be a dark blue, zipper up tank top and dark blue shorts. Her forearms had blue gauntlets on them and there was a crossbow hanging from a holder around her waist.

"Where's the refill for this thing?" asked Jace.

"That's a _big_ fan," commented Annie.

"Haha! Mina looks like a ghetto pirate!" teased Emma.

"Do you want me to stab you through with this sword?" Mina threatened.

Emma shut her mouth.

"Hey, why do _they_ have the cool weapons?" complained Kevin.

Caleb looked over the scanned image of Kevin.

"Actually, you do have weapons. I believe in your shoes and in your hands," he told him.

Kevin looked at his gloves. He twisted them around slowly. Then he looked at his feet.

"I got nothing."

"Well, the computer says that you do," said Caleb.

"Well, I oughtta give this computer a piece of my mind," threatened Kevin.

He closed his fist in annoyance and sharp spikes flew out of the metal dots in his gloves. He stared at them in wonder.

"Whoa."

"Well, now that you've all got your weapons. Mind telling me what we're supposed to do?" asked Evan.

"Aw, you're so cute!" Emma accidentally squealed out.

She hadn't noticed him at all. Evan looked surprise by her comment.

"Um..." he trailed off.

"We need to get to the activated tower," said Annie, annoyed with Emma's comment.

"Hey, what are those?" asked Jace, pointing north.

They all looked to where she was pointing at. There were three block-shaped figures with little claws for legs and a giant symbol resembling an eye at their centers. Behind them were two giant, dark-colored balls.

Caleb stared at the five red circles on the screen.

"Guys? According to the manual, those are Bloks and Megatanks," he told them.

Annie stared at them closely and understood why they were there.

"Looks like XANA's sent us a welcoming parade."

A/N: Cliffhanger!

This is one of the longest chapters I've written so far! Tell me if you like it! You'd better review or I'm canceling this story! I hate it when all I get is two reviews! Only two people review on my story and it's f**king depressing! **REVIEW OR ELSE!**

**I'll make this very simple. 13-14 reviews or no continuation.**


	6. Fighting For Our Lives

A/N: Thank all of you so much for the reviews! You guys reviewed a lot more than I asked for and I'm so grateful! If you're wondering why you see these '' things. It's because my Open Office thing is so retarded and for some reason, there's no space when I press enter. So...yeah. I've been studying up on my Code Lyoko so I hope I don't have any mistakes in this chapter!

This chapter is dedicated to my friend LANI! Who needs to get a freaking ACCOUNT on FANFICTION! .

Chapter 5

Back at Kadic...

"Hey, Nicole, is Grandpa in?" asked Aaren.

Ms. Weber nodded.

"He's in there with a student right now," she told him.

"Don't worry. I'll be quick," he said.

She nodded and got back to her computer. Aaren walked towards his grandfather's office and stared at the door, wondering what was awaiting him on the other side.

"Here goes nothing."

Aaren braced himself and busted through the door. He saw Delmas throwing Jacob across the room. Aaren quickly shut the door to prevent Ms. Weber from seeing anything and launched a kick at Mr. Delmas's side, throwing him off-balance and over the desk. While Delmas was recovering from the blow, Aaren ran over to Jacob who was badly bruised and bleeding in some places.

"Hey, you alright, bud?" he asked.

Aaren didn't hear an answer because the next thing he knew, he was being thrown up in the air. He land in a mess of papers and got to his feet, rubbing his shoulder.

"Damn. When did an old man like you get so strong?" he asked, staring at the strange symbols in Mr. Delmas's eyes.

Aaren cracked his knuckles and spread his feet from each other, getting into a fighting position. He looked between Jacob and Delmas before shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh well. Sorry about this, Gramps. HIYAH!"

"Those are some ugly looking animals," said Mina, looking pointedly at the approaching Blok.

"Well, considering the fact that they're _monsters_, Mina, I'd say that's not very surprising," Annie replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"So what do we do?" asked Emma.

"Try shooting them," suggested Kevin.

"Why? They didn't do anything to us," argued Jace.

The Blok fired a laser and it hit Jace on her shoulder.

Caleb was instantly alert.

"Jace, you just lost 20 life points. You've only got 80 left," he informed her.

Jace on the other hand looked pissed.

"Oh, hell no," she grounded out.

She lifted the crossbow, took aim and hit the Blok, aiming for it's 'eye'. When the arrow came into contact with the Blok's eye, it exploded instantly.

"Cool," said Kevin.

"Okay, so she can fire arrows. What does this fan thingy do? Is it some kind of shield?" Emma asked, unfolding the fan.

Another Blok shot a laser, this time aiming at Emma. Luckily, it hit the fan and not her.

"I guess that it _can_ be a shield," muttered Emma.

"Ever consider throwing it?" asked Mina.

Emma shrugged and used both hands to lift the fan up; it was actually pretty light. She spun once and let it go, aiming for the monsters. It spun towards the first Blok and cut right through it, destroying the monster. It then spun around, back to Emma. She grabbed it with both hands and cheered.

"Yeah! That was awesome!"

"Guys? Can we please get to the tower?" pleaded Annie.

"Oh, yeah. Forgot about that," Emma said sheepishly.

"Let's just take care of the monsters first," suggested Mina.

They all nodded.

"Okay," said Jace as she aimed at the last Blok.

She fired and the arrow hit its target. The Blok exploded.

"Way to go, Jace," Kevin complimented.

She smiled bashfully.

"Okay. That takes care of those Blok thingamajigs. What about the Rollie-Pollie things?" she asked.

"They're called 'Megatanks'," informed Caleb.

Jace rolled her eyes.

"Whatever."

"You're supposed to hit the symbol on their bodies. That's the 'Eye of XANA'. XANA's symbol," he explained.

"Alright, Isaac Newton. Thanks for the lesson but the Megatanks don't _have_ any symbols. They just roll around," said Mina.

As if answering her question, the Megatanks suddenly stopped and split apart, revealing the same symbol that the Bloks had.

"Oh, there it is."

Jace took aim and fired an arrow but the Megatanks suddenly closed, creating a shield that deflected the arrow.

"I think these things are smarter than the Bloks," she said.

"Hello, Captain Obvious," muttered Mina.

"Maybe we have to get really close to attack it," Evan suggested.

"That seems like a logical plan. And no doubt it gets us closer to the tower," said Annie.

They all prepared themselves for the feat. Kevin looked carefully at his friends and steeled his resolve.

"Ready? Go!" said Kevin.

They all ran towards the Megatanks. Both of them opened and a giant, wave of red light shot out from both openings, hitting both Jace and Emma. They all stopped.

"Where the hell did they go?" asked Kevin worriedly.

"Don't worry. They've just been devirtualized. They'll be materialized back to earth through the scanners," said Caleb.

Kevin growled and glared at the Megatanks. He ran at them, wishing that he had a crossbow like Jace so that he could kill both monsters for hurting his sister and...friend.

"Kevin!" yelled Mina in an effort to stop him.

"He's gonna get himself killed," muttered Annie.

Kevin ignored both of them and charged in between both of them. The spikes were sticking out from his glove as he fisted them at his sides. The Megatanks fired at him but he dodged both attacks.

Something clicked in his head and he charged faster, a sudden surge of power pushing to the front of his mind.

"Duplicate!" he shouted.

The other warriors watched as his body seemed to pull apart and then there were two Kevins running side by side.

"How the hell did he do that?" shouted Mina.

"It seems that Kevin has unlocked some sort of super power," said Caleb.

Both Kevins ran straight up to the now-open Megatanks and their fists collided with their targets. The real Kevin managed to pull out before it exploded but his clone was not so fortunate. It was too close to the Megatank and disappeared in the explosion. The real Kevin turned around and gave them the thumbs up.

"Coast's clear."

His friends immediately ran to catch up with him. Mina and Annie were, by far, the most enthusiastic.

"Whoa, dude! You killed it! Literally!" said Mina.

"But that thing you did! What _was_ it?" asked Annie.

"I have no idea," said Kevin.

"Well, you _did_ shout 'Duplicate', so obviously, you knew what you were doing," said Mina.

"Nope," answered Kevin.

"I think that you acted on instinct," Evan said.

Kevin looked at him then shrugged.

"Maybe... Wanna go to the tower now?"

"Yeah," said Annie.

They took off towards the tower. 

Back at Kadic...

"Come on, show me what you got!" shouted Aaren.

Delmas lunged for him but he dodged him easily, kicking him in the gut.

"Sorry, Gramps. But I draw a line at throwing people across the room."

The XANA-fied principle made no comment, choosing to throw the desk at him instead. Aaren tucked into a ball and rolled away. He threw the computer at his grandfather's face and made a break for Jacob. The soccer captain was propped against the wall, breathing hard.

"Okay, bud. Time to go. I need to get you to out of here," he said.

Jacob nodded and Aaren helped him to his feet. He looked at his grandfather who was getting to his feet.

"Damn it, geezer. When I say 'stay down' I mean 'STAY DOWN!'" he said, kicking Delmas in the face.

Aaren backed away, Jacob hanging from his shoulder.

"I always wanted to do that," he commented.

He looked at the exit. He was going to have a hell of a time explaining this one. He steeled himself and made a break for it.

"Agh!"

That was the last sound he made before blacking out.

A/N: Yeah, in case you're wondering, Aaren doesn't have a very good relationship with his mother's side of the family. Just to clarify things!

Wanna know what happens? You gotta review!

MWAAHAAHAA! ...lol...


	7. Scyphozoa

A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed! A little more fighting in this chapter! Yeah, I know that I use a lot of dialogue in my story but to each her own, right?

Chapter 6

Kevin, Mina, Evan and Annie were closing in on the tower when another monster came up on Caleb's screen.

"What's that?" asked an exhausted Jace, pointing at the red circle on the map.

Caleb adjusted the microphone near his mouth.

"Guys, there's another monster coming your way. This one looks different. My advice would be to stay away from it," Caleb.

The four warriors narrowed their eyes at the jellyfish-shaped anomaly floating towards them.

"Well, that's a little difficult, Caleb. It's blocking the entrance to the tower," Kevin informed the blonde.

Caleb pressed multiple buttons on the keyboard then looked down at the manual on his lap.

"Says here that it's called a Scyphozoa."

"Syphilis? Since when can STD's be transmitted through sea animals?" asked Mina.

"_Scyphozoa_ not _syphilis_! Scyphozoa doesn't even _sound_ like syphilis! What the hell have you been learning in health class, Mina? Scyphozoa is, in fact, the scientific name for jellyfish," explained Caleb.

"Well, that would explain it's retarded figure," Kevin said out loud.

"Stay away from it. It says here that it steals memories and can possess people on Lyoko," warned Caleb.

"That's _so_ helpful! Note the sarcasm," Kevin told him.

"Well, it's better than nothing," Emma told her brother, holding the Mic close to her mouth.

"When did you come into the picture, shorts?" asked Kevin.

"When that damn Megatank blasted me away," she muttered.

Kevin snickered and Mina slapped him on the shoulder.

"What?" he asked.

She just shook her head.

"Well, at least you're both alive and well," Annie consoled them.

"Back to the subject!" said Caleb, taking the Mic away from Emma. "Stay away from it."

"Evan can't deactivate the tower if that jellyfish thing is blocking it," said Annie.

"Wait, what?" asked Evan.

He looked very confused.

"Well, then. Find a way to lure it somewhere else," said Caleb.

"Hello? I though _Annie_ was going to go deactivate the tower," said Evan, having something close to a panic attack.

"That's a lot more difficult than you'd think," Annie answered her brother, ignoring the red-haired boy.

"Did I turn invisible all of a sudden?" Evan asked himself.

Kevin and Mina laughed. Annie sighed and looked at him.

"_You_ are going to deactivate the tower, not me. Okay? It's not that difficult. We just need to get you in there," she said, staring him straight in the eye.

"Uh...Alright," he said nervously.

Caleb's screen beeped. He clicked a few keys.

"Guys, XANA's sending in a few monsters," said Caleb.

"Care to clarify?" asked Mina, pulling out her sword.

When she gripped the handle, it instantly split down the middle, giving her two blades.

"Cool."

"Somethings called Krabes and Kankrelats," he answered.

The warriors looked up as four monsters materialized in mid-air. Three of them looked like big-headed roaches with tiny, clawed feet similar to the Bloks. They had a big Eye right on their carapaces. The fourth monster looked like an over-grown crab without the pincers. It's legs, however, looked like huge, jointed, red scythes. It's Eye was on top of it's back.

Each warrior backed away slightly at the sight of the giant Krabe. The Kankrelats, however, didn't scare them in the least.

"Those things look like cockroaches! They look like we can kick them and they'll fly away," Mina said with a laugh.

"Well, the Krabe looks like it'll cut us up if we get too close to it," commented Kevin.

One of the Kankrelats walked up to Annie and she stared at it, curiously.

"What a strange creature," she said quietly.

Evan walked up to her and looked at it, too.

"What happens if I do this?" he asked, dropping his giant hand on top of the Kankrelat.

It was instantly crushed and blew up, right on the spot. Kevin chuckled.

"Well, there's your answer," he told him.

Jace and Emma stared at the scene. That's when Jace remembered Aaren.

"Caleb, Emma and I will go check on Aaren. Something doesn't seem right," she told him.

Caleb nodded.

"Yeah. I'm afraid he might have bitten off more than he can chew," he replied.

Emma giggled.

"He does that all the time. Have you seen the way he eats?" she joked as she ran after Jace.

They got into the elevator and pressed the buttons, giving Caleb some sort of salute.

"Good luck," he told them.

"You, too," said Jace, just as the door closed.

Evan and Annie faced the rest of the monsters. Caleb watched as the more codes showed up.

"Guys, more monsters are coming!"

Mina groaned and sliced a Kankrelat in half with both her swords. Then she dodged a laser being fired from the Krabe.

"Doesn't this XANA thing ever give up?" she growled out, dodging another laser.

"I wish," answered Caleb.

He looked at the screen and his eyes widened.

"Evan, look out!"

A/N: Cliffie!

Okay, some people say that I should update every one or two days but that's a little hard so we'll take a vote. Either I update almost everyday(My mom keeps telling me to get off the Internet so it might be every two days more than everyday **.**) but the chapters will be short – about a page or two – or I update every weekend and the chapters are relatively long. You decide! I'm serious. I don't want two or three people me telling me 'update everyday' or 'update every weekend'. I need you guys to come to a majority vote. So tell me what ya want!


	8. Energy X

A/N: I'm gonna be updating if this story gets enough attention so review if you want an update!

Chapter 7

"_Doesn't this XANA thing ever give up?" she growled out, dodging another laser._

"_I wish," answered Caleb._

_He looked at the screen and his eyes widened._

"_Evan, look out!"_

"Huh?"

He turned around and came face to face with the Scyphozoa.

"Whoa."

That was all he could say before it wrapped it's tentacles around his body, paralyzing him. Three tentacles placed themselves around Evan's head, two at his temples and one at his forehead. What seemed to be pink liquid started flowing from it's tentacles to the bulb-shaped, clear object that was probably it's head.

Caleb yelled in frustration.  
"Get it away from him!" he ordered.

"That's a lot easier said than done, Caleb," said Kevin, doing a back flip to avoid getting hit by another laser fired from the Krabe.

Using the excess strength Lyoko gave him, he managed to jump high off the ground and landed on the Krabe's back.

"Say goodnight," he said, punching his fist into the Krabe's Eye.

He quickly jumped off and ran after Evan but was stopped by four new Kankrelats in front of him.

"Mina! Get to Evan! Duplicate!" he yelled, cloning himself once more.

The clone attacked the Kankrelat while the real Kevin jumped out of the way to avoid a laser.

"Busy here!" she answered.

The navy-haired girl was blocking lasers with her swords, switching between one and the other when deflecting the attack.

Annie bit her lip in worry and raised her hands towards the Scyphozoa, concentrating. Two X-shaped pink energy fields shot out of her hand, hitting one of the Scyphozoa's tentacles. A red laser came up from behind her and hit on her back.

"Ah!" she shrieked in surprise.

"Annie, you just lost ten life points!" said Caleb.

"I got it."

Kevin ran up to the Kankrelat that shot at Annie and punched it's Eye, causing it to explode. He turned around to face the rest of monsters XANA had sent them, his spiky fists halfway raised.

"Get working on that Scyphozoa," he ordered, charging after the first monster, another Krabe.

Using his super strength, Kevin threw himself in the air and landed on it's back. He punched it's Eye with his spiked-filled fist. He back flipped off of it before it exploded and immediately ran after the other monsters, leaving Annie behind.

The pink-haired female stared at the Scyphozoa and prepared to fire again. She raised her hand and aimed carefully; she didn't want to make any mistakes. A light pink X burst out from her palm and flew towards the Scyphozoa, cutting three other tentacles off.

Immediately, the Scyphozoa let go of Evan and floated away. But instead of running away to repair itself, it did something extremely unorthodox. It faced Kevin and shot a _blue_ laser at him. Kevin couldn't react in time but the laser only managed to damage his arm.

"Ow!" he shouted as it floated away.

Caleb grabbed his Mic.

"You lost thirty life points Kevin," he said.

"Thanks for the memo, genius."

Annie ran up to Evan.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

He groaned, looking drained.

Caleb sighed in relief from the real world.

"It's a good thing you cut those tentacles off, Annie. Evan would have been under XANA's control if he had stayed there a few minutes longer."

Annie helped Evan by wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"Thanks. I'm bringing Evan to the tower," she said.

"Alright," he answered.


	9. Jasper

A/N: For those of you who noticed that the name Jasper appeared in the title in the last chapter but it wasn't there. Sorry, I mixed that chapter up with this chapter! XD A little swearing in here and in further chapters but it's not very extensive so please READ!

Chapter 8

Jace and Emma burst through the principle's door, completely ignoring the secretary's protest. Aaren was on the ground, knocked out and Jacob was cowering in the corner, bruise and battered. The soccer captain looked up when he heard the door open, his right eye was deep purple.

"I think it's safe to say that things aren't going very good," assumed Jace.

Delmas walked slowly towards them, XANA symbols in his eyes.

"HIYAH!" yelled Emma as she kicked him in a place men should not be kicked (A/N: You probably know what I'm talking about. *Shudders*).

Delmas fell to the floor but was back up again the next moment. He didn't even look fazed at all.

"Well, that usually keeps them down for, at least, two minutes," said Emma, dodging Delmas's lunge for her.

Both Jace and Emma broke to the side and ran to Jacob and the passed-out Aaren.

"What happened to my brother?" asked Jace.

She stared at Aaren's battered body. It was strange seeing him so vulnerable and damaged. Jacob looked like he was having a mini-panic attack.

"I-I don't know! Delmas made this g-giant ball of electricity out of thin air and it hit Aaren o-on the b-back," he said, looking pretty shaken up.

Jace looked at Emma; she looked back with equal worry.

"We've got to get out of here," she told the brunette.

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Aargh!" yelled Delmas, charging towards them.

Jace stood up, ready to fight, when Emma pulled out a rectangular object and stuck it in the principle's stomach. He shook slightly before falling to the ground, passed out. Both Jace and Jacob looked at Emma in wonder. She stared back and gave a weak smile.

"I always bring a taser with me," she said, shaking the little, black object at them.

They both looked shocked. Aaren's eyes flickered open.

"Ugh...What happened?" he asked.

"XANA happened," said Jace.

He looked up at her and rubbed his head in pain. He grunted as Emma and Jace helped him into a sitting position.

"Aw, man. I thought all of that was a dream," he muttered.

"I'm beginning to wish it was," replied his sister.

"Who's XANA?" asked Jacob.

"None of your business. I'm calling Caleb to check up on the situation," said Jace, pulling out her cell phone.

"Jace, what's up?" asked Caleb.

The picture of Jace along with her phone number showed up on the screen.

"Aaren and Jacob are both beaten up real bad and Grandpa is unconscious. He was under XANA's control, apparently," she told him through the phone.

"Okay, after Evan deactivates the tower, I'll launch something called 'Return to the Past'. I hope it's what it says it is," Caleb told her.

"How are Kevin and Mina?" she asked.

Caleb checked their stats. Kevin has seventy life points, Annie has ninety and Mina still has all of hers. Mina's scanned image came up and her arm was blinking red, signifying that she had got shot.

He looked up at the holographic image of Lyoko right behind the computer screen. He watched as Annie and Evan approached the tower.

"Make that seventy. We're good on this end. How about you?" he asked.

"Alright. We're taking them to the infirmary. Call us if anything comes up," she said in a breathy voice.

"Okay, Jace. See you," he said.

"Bye."

Jace looked Emma in the eye. She could tell that the brunette was really worried about both Jacob and Aaren.

"Caleb's going to do something, right?" she asked.

Jacob looked up at Jace.

"Belpois? What's he going to do?" he questioned.

Jace ignored him but answered Emma.

"He said he's going to launch something called 'Return to the Past' after Evan deactivates the tower." She looked back at Delmas's dormant body. "Let's get these two to the infirmary."

Emma nodded in agreement and pulled Aaren's arm over her shoulder. She got to her feet and so did Aaren.

"Where are we going?" asked the blonde.

"To the infirmary. We're gonna get you fixed," she assured him.

Aaren laughed quietly as they exited the office.

"Good luck getting past Nicole."

Caleb hung up and watched the little green triangles running towards the tower (A/N: In case you haven't figured it out yet, green triangles are the Lyoko warriors. Red circles are XANA's monsters.)

Evan and Annie rushed past Kevin just as he destroyed a Kankrelat. A Krabe was about to attack him when Annie launched an energy-X at it. It stumbled at bit before blowing up.

Kevin smirked.

"Way to go, pinky," he commented as she passed by.

She smiled back in response and stopped in front of the tower. She let go of Evan.

"Go in. You should know what to do," she assured him.

He nodded and placed his hands first on the tower's walls. They slid right through and the rest of him followed suit. He walked to the center of the platform and was instantly lift up through the tower's interior and landed on a second platform many meters above the first one. He walked to the center and a transparent screen showed up in front of him.

He placed his hand on it and the name 'JASPER' popped up. It asked for the Code and he typed in 'LYOKO'. Instantly, all the windows along the tower's walls fell downwards.

"Tower: Deactivated."

There was a stream of white light and he couldn't see anything anymore.

Caleb clicked a few buttons and pressed enter.

"Return to the Past, now."

Everything turned white...

A/N: I know it's a little short. Drop me a review on your way out, please!


	10. Complicated

A/N: Here's the next chapter of my story! I hope you like it!

-BORDER-

Chapter 9

"Hey, guys," said Kevin, taking the seat next to Caleb. "How was summer? Whoa."

"Yeah, Deja vu's been hitting us hard lately," said Jace.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" asked Caleb.

Kevin stared at him like he was mentally retarded.

"Don't you remember anything?" he asked.

"Apparently, since Caleb wasn't scanned, he doesn't remember anything about Lyoko," explained Annie.

"Lyoko? How do you guys know about Lyoko?" Caleb questioned.

"We've known ever since yesterday – today – yesterday?" she asked uncertainly, looking at the rest of them.

"I'd just say yesterday. It's easier," suggested Emma.

The rest of them nodded.

"Whatever."

Jacob suddenly came walking their way.

"Hey, Stern," he greeted, putting his hand on Kevin's shoulder.

"If you want to keep that hand, I suggest you remove it from my shoulder," he warned, repeating what he had said the day before (?).

Jacob did as he was told.

"Hey, Jace. Hey, Emma," he greeted the two girls.

"Huh? Oh, hey," said Jace.

"Hi, Jacob," said Emma.

He smiled and looked at Jace then at Caleb and Kevin.

"Soccer meeting. Today at 5:30. Don't miss it or your off the team," said Jacob just before he left.

They watched as he left, bumping into an approaching Aaren on his way out.

"Hello, you habituating habitating nincompoops!" he said happily.

"He said it again," muttered Kevin.

Emma automatically launched her fist into his rib cage before he could even sit.

"Ouch, Emma. What the hell!"

She just shrugged.

"I think it was because he had her worried," whispered Annie.

"I was _not_ worried!" protested Emma.

"Oh, don't lie. Did you _see_ your face?" asked Jace.

"Well, there wasn't a mirror but I'm pretty sure it was cute," she retorted.

"You're so full of yourself," said Jace.

"No. I'm filled with blood, flesh and I'm pretty sure air is somewhere in there, too," she answered.

"Damn. You girls fight like a bunch of cats," said Aaren, still rubbing his chest painfully.

"And you fight like a dog," Jace replied evenly.

"Shut up."

"No, you shut up."

"No._ You_ shut up!"

"Both of you, shut the hell up! You're getting annoying!" exclaimed Mina.

"Ya think?" asked Caleb, laughing.

Kevin, Emma and Annie all laughed along with him.

"Why, hello, Mrs. Grumpy Pants. So when is practice?" asked Aaren.

"Tomorrow at nine," she answered automatically.

It felt weird going through the same process all over again.

"Yes! It's good to have the band back together! Do you still have your drums, Kevin?" he asked his friend.

The black-haired boy stared at his friend for a full three seconds before twitching and turning to the only pink-haired female of the group.

"Okay, if I have to keep this up any longer I'm going to strangle someone," Kevin told Annie.

The pinkette shrugged. Kevin almost growled.

"Well, we might as well fill them in," said Emma.

"I agree," said Jace.

Mina nodded in agreement.

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Aaren, his face contorted in confusion.

Mina laughed.

"You tell him. I'll tell Caleb," she said, just as the bell rang.

Every one of them grabbed their things and got ready to go to class...again.

"Fair enough. Let's go, Aaren."

-BORDER-

The day was pretty much the same as the day before. They had a diagnostic test that Kevin passed, again. Lizzy irritated Jace, Emma and Annie and they all gathered they're homework for all their different classes. The only exception was that Aaren kept asking questions about Lyoko, the monsters and, of course, XANA.

"I swear, Aaren. If you don't shut that mouth of yours, I'm going to stick a sock in it," Kevin threatened, his hand forming a fist.

"I can't help it! It's a little hard for me to believe. Everything you're saying is pure science fiction," he answered.

"Ugh! The next time XANA attacks. You are coming to Lyoko with me," he promised, feeling frustrated.

If Aaren didn't shut up soon, he was going to crack. It was a miracle he hadn't already.

"Alright. But if I come out as something retarded like a dog, I'm suing," he joked.

Kevin scoffed.

"That's not even funny."

"_You're_ not funny," Aaren retorted angrily.

"I don't expect to be," he replied in an even voice.

Aaren moved his hand so that he could slap Kevin but the teenage boy grabbed his wrist and flipped him on his back by kicking the backs of his legs. He pinned Aaren's arms to his back with his hands. Aaren groaned in pain.

"First, you're sister. Now, you? Damn it, Kevin. You're family is so abusive," he moaned out.

Kevin smirked.

"You should know better than to attack the children of Ulrich Stern and Yumi Ishiyama," he answered back.

Aaren humphed.

"Why couldn't _I_ have been the child of an ultra-cool dojo master?" asked Aaren.

"Cause your dad's the owner of a multi-million dollar business company," Kevin replied matter-of-factly, helping Aaren to his feet.

"Don't remind me. I barely get to see him."

"He's coming to the dance, right? To chaperon?" asked Kevin.

"Yeah. But that's in December. Too long. Well, he calls every other day so it's not so bad."

Kevin chuckled and shook his head.

"Let's get to that soccer meeting, Della Robbia."

"Aye aye, Cap'n Stern," he said with a laugh.

-Border-

The Next Day...

"So when are we going back into Lyoko?" asked Mina.

They were all sitting at their usual table in Kadic's cafeteria.

"Not until XANA attacks. Caleb and I will try to work on the materialization program for Jasper but that might take from a few days to a few weeks," said Annie.

Aaren sighed in disappointment. After hearing about Lyoko, he was really eager to check it out for himself. That's when Lizzy decided to make her appearance.

"Hey, losers. Mom just told me that we're having a 'Welcome Back' dance this Saturday. Everyone is invited but I don't think any of you will even _get_ a date," she sneered.

Aaren shrugged.

"I've got one to every dance before this one. I shouldn't have a problem," Aaren replied.

"Oh, shut up, idiot," she retorted, narrowing her eyes.

"Well, seeing as how _I'm_ the one getting A's and B's in classes while _you_ are failing miserably, I wouldn't be the one to label myself 'idiot'," he answered back.

"Go to hell."

"I would but I'd have to see _your_ face every day, now, wouldn't I?"

Lizzy looked like she was ready to claw the hell out of her brother but directed her attention to her sister, Jace.

"We're allowed to take dates but you'd _better_ stay away from Jacob, Jasmine. He doesn't want to waste his time around losers like you," she warned.

Jace scoffed.

"Jacob can go out with whoever the hell he wants," she said.

The rest of the gang knew that she was defending Emma because of her friend's obviously liking towards Jacob but Kevin took it the wrong way.

"Excuse me. I've got to be...somewhere," he told them, getting up from his seat.

They watched as he walked out of the cafeteria, his face in his usual blank expression. When Lizzy left Aaren whistled lowly.

"Ooh...Someone's in a bad mood," he said, facing the rest of them.

"Go check up on him," ordered Annie.

"But I'm _tired_! Tell Jace. She's the one who started it!"

"Just what the hell did I start?" she demanded, looking offended.

"Oh, come on! You guys are as stupid as _Lizzy_ to not realize the obvious attraction that you two have!" said Aaren, throwing his hands up in the air.

"If we're stupid then you and Mina are total _dumbasses_ not to realize how much you like each other!" she replied.

"Shut up, Jace!" warned Mina.

Jace, outraged, got up from the table in a huff and walked out the door. The all stared after her retreating figure.

"I'll go after her," said Emma, getting up from her seat.

When the brunette finally caught up with her friend, she saw that Jace was staring at something around the corner. She looked like she was going to puke. Emma ran to her side.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Jace looked at her with wide eyes. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. So, she pointed around the corner and Emma turned her head to look. What she saw surprised her to hell and back. Kevin Stern was kissing Stephanie Gratis, his ex-girlfriend.

-BORDER-

A/N: I think that this is the beginning of some major drama! Who wants to see Jace kick Kevin's ass? Review your answers! I wanna know what you guys want!


	11. The Heart Wants What The Heart Wants

A/N: One word: Drama. Two words: Please review... Three words: Dedicated to mysteryfantasy21.

-!T-H-I-S-I-S-A-B-O-R-D-E-R!-

Chapter 10

"Oh my God! That bastard! That dumbass! That stupid, idoitic fool!"

Jace crossed her arms together. She was getting annoyed with her friend's insistent prattling.

"Emma, just get over it. I don't care," she said in a somber tone.

The brunette scoffed.

"That's total bull crap if I've ever heard it. I still can't believe he still likes her. I mean, he _was_ the one who broke it up because he thought she was a little clingy so I thought that meant he wasn't interested anymore! Okay, maybe he _did _cry over her once or twice after they broke up and _maybe_ he did say that he regretted it but I thought that he'd never ask the girl out ever again!" she told her, ranting now.

Jace raised her head to her friend.

"Emma?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Please shut your trap."

Emma closed her mouth and directed her attention to the teacher. Jace ran a hand through her purple-black hair. She felt totally betrayed even though,_technically_, she and Kevin weren't even together so didn't really _have_ a right to feel betrayed but, either way, she _did_ and-and-and...

"Damn it! I thought he was over her!" she shouted, not realizing that they were in the middle of Science class.

Ms. Hertz stared at Jace angrily while everyone else looked at her like she was nuts. Emma wondered whether on not she had finally cracked.

"Ms. Della Robbia. Would you like to share your private thoughts with the rest of the class?" she inquired.

The entire class laughed.

"No, ma'am," said Jace, backing into her seat.

The teacher looked at her appraisingly. Jace looked down, feeling thoroughly embarrassed.

"Well, if you're done yelling, maybe you could tell me the three parts of an atom," she requested.

"Um. Protons, neutrons and electrons," she answered.

The teacher looked surprised and pleased at the same time. She nodded and went back to the board.

"Very good. Now, back to the subject of sub-atomic particles..."

Jace stopped paying attention and went back to sulking. It wasn't fair how Kevin had this sort of effect on her. It was so stupid. She was tough and sturdy, wasn't she? With strong emotional control?

Why was it that whenever Kevin was involved in the equation, things suddenly became complicated?

Jace huffed internally.

What did he see in that blonde piece of fluff anyway? Sure, Stephanie Gratis _was_ the leader of the cheerleading team and _maybe_ she was sort of fun to hang around but come on! He could have chosen any other girl to ask to the dance! Why did he have to ask the first girl he ever truly felt something for? Why couldn't been some random chick that Jace positively knew wasn't very important to him? Why'd he have to choose the first girl that he'd ever felt something more than just mutual attraction for? For all Jace knew, Stephanie was probably the first girl that Kevin was ever serious with? When they were together, he'd talked about her endlessly until Jace couldn't even be in the same room with him!

God! She was pathetic!

Jace placed her head in her arms. Oh, how she hated Kevin Stern, right now!

~~~~~~~~~!T-H-I-S-T-H-I-N-G-I-S-A-B-O-R-D-E-R!~~~~~~~~

Aaren threw a jab towards Kevin's left ear and Kevin easily dodged, throwing a light jab to Aaren's stomach. The blonde backed away, just narrowly missing Kevin's punch. He frowned at his friend.

"Hey, that was a pretty mean thing you did to Jace," he told Kevin.

The two of them were in Health class and today, everyone was to spar for ten minutes with their partners to exemplify the techniques of boxing. Kevin and Aaren were paired together and the latter was barely dodging Kevin's blows. If he wasn't quick on his feet, Aaren would probably be writhing on the floor, right now, in pain.

"And just what is that?" asked Kevin as he managed to land a hit on Aaren's right shoulder.

The blonde backed away slightly, shrugging his shoulders to ward off the pain.

"Don't act stupid, Kev. You got back together with Stephani Gratis because you managed to take one of Jace's comments the wrong way. Now, my baby sister is gonna be in a sour mood the whole time you and Ms. Cheerleader are going out," said Aaren.

He launched another punch at Kevin and managed to graze his friend's cheek. Kevin responded by punching Aaren on the face. Hard. He fell to the ground with a fairly audible _thump_. Aaren groaned from the pain.

"Ouch. Damn it, Kev! You couldn't have taken it easy on me?" he asked.

Kevin took off his boxing gloves and helped Aaren to his feet.

"It's not in my nature," he answered his best friend.

"Well, that nature seems fairly malicious today," Aaren observed.

Kevin walked away from the sparring mat to get a cup of water. He turned to his friend.

"Stephanie and I are _not_ going out. I'm just taking her to the dance. It's nothing more than a friendly invitation," he said.

Aaren rolled his eyes.

"Dude, you acted like a total asshole when the two of you were going out and then when you broke it off, I had to stop you from bursting into tears every time someone mentioned her name. I even had to stop you from kicking Jacob's ass when he asked her to the Spring Dance," Aaren said with a laugh.

Kevin sighed. He didn't like feeling this way. When it came to Stephanie, his heart beat like a jackrabbit and his body became over heated. But when it came to Jace, his heart was trying it's best not to jump out of his chest and he felt like someone had poured gasoline all over him and set him on fire. Stephanie was smart but not as smart as Jace. Jace had a certain way of unnerving him and making him feel like some moony-eyed tongue-tied lover boy where as he could keep his cool when Stephanie was around. Stephanie would always hold a small place in his heart. But Jace was it's dictator and there was nothing he could do about it.

Kevin looked up at his blonde friend.

"I really don't know what to do, Aaren. You're sister is really important to me and I don't want to ruin our friendship by going out with her. Stephanie might be able to close up those emotions. At least, for a few days," he said, taking a sip of water.

Aaren laughed. His friend was such a strange kid.

"Why can't the two of you just be daring and take a chance every once in a while?" asked Aaren.

Kevin stared at his him and frowned.

"Like you and Mina are doing any better," he retorted.

Aaren grinned.

"Actually, Mina and I are going to the dance together," he said proudly, puffing his chest out slightly.

Kevin's eyes widened in disbelief.

"No way? You actually asked her out?" he asked.

Aaren nodded and then smiled slyly.

"She's a very good kisser by the way," he added.

Kevin covered his ears with his hands and tried to forget what he just heard.

"Seriously! She's like a sister to me! I don't need to hear any of that!" he complained, a disgusted expression on his face.

Aaren laughed at his friend.

"If Mina's your sister then what is Jacob?"

"The ugly-ass stepbrother who was raised by wolves before we managed to civilize him," Kevin replied, his face free of emotion.

Aaren burst into another fit of laughs.

"Okay. _That _ was hilarious!" he said.

"No, it wasn't," Kevin replied blankly.

After a while, Aaren managed to calm down and even managed to stare Kevin directly in the eyes.

"So you're dating your _ex_ so that you won't fall in love with my baby sister," Aaren assumed.

Kevin shrugged, pulling his shirt back on.

"She's not a baby anymore, Aaren. And I won't fall in love with her," he declared, walking out of the Gym.

Aaren chuckled at his friend's idiocy.

"Yeah, right, Stern."

He ran to catch up with his friend. He didn't see the trail of smoke that moved towards the sparring mats.

-BORDER-

A/N: And que dramatic music! Oh, BTW! I'll be updating every 3-5 days because I have three projects due and finals are coming up so I'll have to be studying all over the place! Don't worry! I WILL update, it'll just be a little late. Review or I MIGHT not update!

To LOU: You better review you son of a !#$C%! lol...


	12. Possession

A/N: Okay, you guys seriously need to pick up on the reviews. I love all of your comments but it;s not as many as I expected.

Okay, here's the next chapter! To Tsunamix: Yeah, I did a mirror scene but the outcome is WAY different!

P.S: I feel so sorry for Kevin...

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

Chapter 11

Friday morning, the day before the dance, Aaren came running up to his friends with an excited expression on his face. They were in the hallway, all in their own little world. Annie and Emma were looking between various piano sheets. Mina and Jace were talking about their fourth period Science assignment. Aaren figured that Kevin was either staring at the trees or deep in thought. He looked like he was in a bad mood.

He ran up to them, smiling and panting. They all looked up – err – _down_ at him, wondering what had got him so psyched.

"Hey, guys! Did you hear?" he asked them.

They shook their heads.

"Hear what?" asked Annie.

"There's going to be a fighting competition on Saturday! It's mixed martial arts so anything goes!" he told them.

They all looked confused.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" said Jace.

"What?" he asked his sister.

"Saturday? Isn't that the day of the dance?" asked Annie.

"Yeah. But it's in the morning and the dance is at night so we can still make it to both," he told them, practically jumping up and down.

"Any rules?" asked Mina.

"Why? Do you plan on joining?" Aaren asked, amused.

Mina grinned.

"Maaayyybeee," she drawled out.

Aaren laughed.

"Anyways, I already got my entry form!" he announced, pulling a white paper full of lines and words.

He held it up for them to see.

"I'll get one for you guys to. This is going to be awesome!"

"Well, whoop-de-doo," Kevin said in a sarcastic tone.

Aaren frowned, looking at Kevin with a disapproved look. Of all people, he'd expect Kevin to be the _least_ disappointed.

"Wow, who died and made _you_ the King of Gloom?" he asked.

Kevin frowned at his friend and walked away from the group, leaving Aaren dumbfounded.

"Okay. What the hell just happened?" he asked the rest of them.

Mina, Annie, Emma and Jace all looked away. Caleb was the only one to answer.

"Don't you remember what today is?" he questioned.

Aaren thought to himself for a while but couldn't come up with anything.

"No," Aaren replied in a confused tone.

Emma sighed. She looked ready to cry. Aaren began to feel really stupid that he didn't know what caused such sadness.

"It's the third death anniversary of Uncle Hiroki," she said, her eyes on the ground.

"Kevin's taking it harder than usual," said Annie.

"Yeah. He was closer to Uncle Hiroki than anyone of us in our family. Even more than mom or Jin. Of course, Uncle Hiroki _was_ Kevin's godfather," said Emma.

Aaren felt a cold chill down his back as he suddenly remembered that day.

_**Flashback**_

"_Stern! Stern, open the door!" Aaren yelled, pounding on the wooden contraption._

_It was the second day of school and he was locked outside of his dorm room in nothing but a towel. What was wrong with this dude? A guy needed to change, you know!_

"_Leave me alone!" Kevin yelled from inside the room, his voice cracking twice._

_Aaren pounded on the door harder, getting frustrated now. That dude had better opened this door or he was going to break something._

"_Stern! Don't let me bust down this door!" he threatened._

_The door flew open and a red-eyed Kevin Stern. Aaren backed away slightly. The black-haired boy looked ready to murder someone._

"_Whoa, dude. What happened?" he asked, his voice returning to normal._

_Kevin glared at him._

"_Like _you_ need to know!" he answered angrily._

_Kevin moved out of the way and walked out the door._

"_Get changed and leave," he said in a dead voice._

_Aaren placed his hand on Kevin's shoulder._

"_Whatever happened, it can't be that bad. Even if it seems like the end of the world...it's not. You always got someone. There's always some sort of light at the end of the tunnel, right?" he said in a cheerful voice._

_Kevin just stared at him, half believing, half thinking he was bullshitting him. Aaren just smiled and walked into the room to change._

"_Kevin."_

"_Huh?" he asked._

"_Don't call me, Stern. Call me Kevin," he said._

_Aaren smiled._

"_And you can call me Ray!" he said._

_Kevin laughed and shook his head._

"_You're name is Aaren," he told him._

"_But call me Ray!"_

"_Aaren."_

"_Ray!"_

"_Aaren."_

"_But my second name is Ray!" he protested._

_Kevin smirked._

"_Doesn't matter. It's still Aaren."_

_**End Flashback**_

Aaren sighed. That was the day he and Kevin had decided one becoming best friends.

"Man, I feel like such an asshole. Maybe I should go and cheer him up," he suggested.

He was about to run after Kevin when Caleb stopped him by placing his hand on Aaren's chest.

"Maybe we should just leave him to himself. Knowing him, he'd want to be alone on today of all days," he said, looking after Kevin's figure.

He didn't notice the thin trail of smoke following his friend.

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

Kevin looked at himself in the mirror. There was no one else in the boy's locker room. He had been crying and had tried, unsuccessfully, to wipe the tears away. He growled in anger as he rubbed his eyes.

"Damn it! Why can't I pull it together?" he yelled to himself, banging his fists against the mirror.

Why did he have to lose it on _this_ day? He had promised his godfather that he would be strong no matter what and here he was, crying his eyes out like some pathetic little crybaby.

"This sucks," he muttered.

"_Ah. You humans are such petty things._"

Kevin looked up at his reflection and it smirked at him. He backed away in surprise.

"Holy sh- What the- Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"_I am you_," laughed the reflection.

Kevin frowned.

"I know me. You're not me," he answered.

His reflection sneered.

"_Of course, I'm not some pathetic human like you. However, you _do_ have the characteristics of a potential host_," said his reflection, glaring.

Kevin took a moment to process those words. Finally, his mind clicked in understanding.

"XANA?" he asked incredulously.

The other Kevin nodded and smiled at his expression.

"_I've been watching you over the last week, Kevin Stern. You are not like the rest of your friends. You keep to yourself most of the time and have good control of your emotions...most of the time_," XANA amended, staring at Kevin's tear-stained face.

Kevin gritted his teeth.

"Shut up. You don't know anything about me!" he shouted.

XANA smiled. It was a devilish smile. Kevin felt chills run down his back.

"_On the contrary, Kevin. I know a lot about you. You are the first born child of Ulrich Stern and Yumi Ishiyama. This contributes to your strong instinct of survival in the Lyoko world. You have an IQ of 146. You are intelligent. Lastly, you are independent but you let your emotions rule you most of the time. You are difficult to control. However, you are not _impossible_ to control_," XANA said, smiling evilly.

"What do you plan on doing?" he asked.

XANA laughed, deeply and with disdain. Kevin's reflection stared at him straight in the eyes.

"_Don't worry. I'll make sure you remember everything. I mean, what kind of person would I be to __deny you a front row seat to you and your colleagues' demise?_" he answered, his image morphing.

"You're not a person-AAAAAAHHHH!"

Kevin yelled in pain as the reflection disappeared into smoke and entered his mouth and eyes. His body shook violently and his screams were cut short. He fell onto his hands and knees, twitching slightly in pain. At that moment, an eighth grader by the name of Johnny Winslow entered the locker room. He saw Kevin and ran to his side.

"Hey, Stern. Are you alright?" he asked.

Kevin looked up at him. His face was blank and his pupils were dilated (A/N: Basically they're three times their regular size, taking up about one-third of their eyeball). He nodded mutely and stood up.

"Never felt better."

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

A/N: Review or else! Seriously! Please Review!


	13. Friendship Over

A/N: Thank you for reviewing! Here's another one!

P.S.: I was wondering why my brother's snot was blue. Turns out he stuck a marker up his nose. XD

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

Chapter 12

Aaren ran to catch up with Kevin when he saw him hanging out with another group of friends. They all wore black. Black hair. Black shirts. Black pants. Black shoes. The only source of color came from the cheerleaders standing next to them. Stephanie was holding on to Kevin's arm. He didn't seem to be happy about the predicament but still smiled anyway.

Aaren was about to run up to him when Kevin turned around and saw him. The blonde lifted his hand and waved at his friend. Kevin stared at him blankly before shooting him the finger.

"Fuck you," he mouthed out before walking to class.

The group of darkly-clad boys followed him along with Stephanie.

Aaren just stood there in a stupor. Kevin had never done something like that before. Noe matter how mad he was with Aaren. What the hell was wrong with him?

"Hey Kevin!" he called out.

Kevin turned around and so did his new friends.

"What do you want?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

Aaren frowned.

"What's wrong with you today? Yeah, I know all about your uncle and stuff but come on! That was three years ago!" complained Aaren.

Kevin lifted an eyebrow and nodded.

"You're right, Aaren. That was three years ago. Come to think of it. So are you. And just like I'm over my uncle's death. I'm over our friendship," he said coldly.

Aaren's eyes widened in disbelief.

"W-what?" he asked, still not believing it.

Kevin's gaze did not falter.

"You heard me, Della Robbia. I don't need to be friends with you. You're nothing but some undergrown weakling who is going nowhere. I don't need you. You're not important."

And with that parting statement, Kevin left. Leaving Aaren standing there, frozen. The blonde took in the words slowly. His hands clenched into fists.

A single tear slid down his cheek.

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

That afternoon, right after classes ended, all those who wanted to try out for the soccer team met at the field. There was a small crowd in the bleachers by the time Jacob got there. He looked through the young boys present. Jace was the only girl, _again._ He saw Aaren and Kevin among the group but they weren't standing next to each other like they usually did. In face, Kevin was standing with the cheerleaders, namely Stephanie Gratis. His arm was swung over her shoulder and he was cracking jokes and laughing.

_Stern never jokes around_, he thought to himself.

Something was going on but he shrugged it off. He had to begin the tryouts.

"Alright, everyone! Gather around!" he ordered.

The players all ran towards him. Kevin gave Stephanie a small kiss before jogging towards the group. Jacob nodded in satisfaction and counted the amount of kids who were trying out. Twenty-four. That was a big number.

"Alright, get into groups of six. One goalie, two guards and three kickers. There should be four groups," he said.

The kids started walking around, getting into groups but Kevin just stood there. Jacob was about to walk up to him and ask him why he wasn't moving when five other students came to his side. They were all ninth graders and looked tougher than the younger ones. Jacob noticed that Aaren wasn't among any of them. That was odd.

They were all bulky and tall. They all wore black shirts and black soccer shorts (A/N: They reach up to their knees), black knee-socks and black and white tennis shoes. Kevin smirked at the smaller groups. Most of them were eighth graders or seventh graders.

Jacob frowned and looked at the other groups. They were all organized so he clapped his hands to get their attention. They all turned to him.

"Alright. Since there are four groups, there will be two games. I will watch your performances and the ones who stand out the most will become members of this soccer team. The first to three wins. The first match will be between Aaren's group...and Kevin's group," he said.

The two groups took their positions. Aaren was the goalie for his team while Kevin was the lead kicker for his. Jacob placed the ball in the middle and blew the whistle. Kevin got to the ball first and passed it to one of the other kickers; a boy named Matthew Allin. Matthew ran it down the field and then kicked backed to Kevin. One of the other team's players blocked him so he passed it to another kicker, Russell Vainer. Russell charged towards the goal and was able to get passed the guards.

He kicked the ball high up, hoping to use Aaren's height to his advantage but the blonde was prepared. He jumped way up high and managed to grab the ball before it got into the net. He held it and kicked it back across the field to one of his team mates, Robbie. Robbie ran it to the goalie and managed to score.

"Whoo!" cheered Aaren, along with the crowd.

The cheerleaders let out a bunch of cheers and they did a few flips.

"One-Zero," Jacob announced.

Kevin looked displeased and frowned deeply. They took their positions again and Jacob blew the whistle. Kevin got the ball again and passed it to Russell. Robbie stole it from Russell and started running it down the field but Matthew was able to steal it back. He kicked it to Kevin and the black-haired boy used his foot to toss it up in the air. He flipped backwards and his foot collided with the ball. It flew across the field at a fast rate. Aaren tried to catch it but it flew right under his arm. The crowd erupted in cheers.

"One-Up," said Jacob.

Once more, they took their positions and once more, Kevin got the ball. He charged towards the net but got blocked by one of Aaren's team mates. He passed the ball to Matthew who passed to Russell who passed it back to Kevin. Kevin took aim and ran towards the goal. At the last second, he stopped, five feet away from the net.

He didn't move.

The crowd stopped cheering and started whispering to each other.

"What the hell is he doing?"

"Is he nuts?"

"What a total dumbass."

Kevin's team mates kept the other players at bay as he got ready to kick. He stared Aaren straight in the eyes and Aaren noticed that his friend's pupils were a lot bigger than normal. He was about to ask what had happened when Kevin kicked the ball his hardest. It headed straight for Aaren who opened his arms to catch it.

However, Kevin's kick held so much power that the force of the soccer ball sent Aaren flying backwards. His back collided with the net and there was a low _thump_ as he fell to the ground. Jacob and all the other players ran to his side, sick with worry. Aaren looked shocked for a moment before he started screaming in pain.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

A/N: How old do I sound? Some people say that I sound older than what I really am. How old do you think I am?

Can more than four people PLEASE REVIEW?


	14. Insult to Injury

A/N: Early update!

See, if you guys reviewed a lot, this would happen more often! I decided to update early cuz, well, it's Friday and I'll probably be busy all weekend! However, keep reviewing and I'll update on Sunday!

Yeah, I know that I put a lot of personality in XANA even though he's an emotionless son of a greegleburger but I just like it better that way. He's passive most of the time but you see more emotion in this fic than most others.

Probably because I'm retarded! XP

BTW, if you're still reading this stupid author's note thingamajig, some of of you (well, one of you ( -_- ) actually) thought that I was seventeen or around that age. Do I really sound seventeen? I _will _ release my age because I really couldn't care less if you tried to track me down and murder me because it would probably cost you more money than I'm worth! XD

I am...in fact...zero...plus fourteen years old...

If that freaks you out then f*ck you and your own narrow vision of the world!

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

Chapter 13

A stretcher was quickly called to the scene and they had to bring Aaren to the infirmary. The crowd looked dumbfounded. There had never been an incident like that at Kadic. Ever. Kevin turned to go when Jacob stopped him.

"Stern! Get over here," he ordered.

Kevin looked like he was going to retort but kept his mouth shut as he walked up to Jacob. The navy-haired teen grabbed him by the collar.

"Did you do that on purpose?" he asked.

Kevin didn't reply. He just stared at Jacob dumbly.

"Did you do that on purpose?" he asked again, angrier this time.

Kevin glared at him but managed to shake his head.

"No."

Jacob let go of him and backed away slightly. He didn't know why he felt so angry. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Aaren was one of the best goalies in Kadic and now he wouldn't be able to play for quite some time. He glared at Kevin for a moment before speaking.

"Your team wins this match. Now go and check the damage you did on your friend," he ordered.

Kevin's gaze hardened.

"He's not my friend," he said.

Jacob's face became contorted with rage. He pointed towards the school.

"Leave. Now."

Kevin shrugged but obeyed the order. He left the soccer field quietly. Many angry and confused eyes followed him – of whom the most confused was none other than Jace Della Robbia – and walked into the academy. There was no one walking around in the hallways. He found his way to the infirmary where the nurse was wrapping Aaren in bandages. It seemed like his wound was superficial and looked a lot worse than it really was. Kevin knocked on the door. The nurse looked up.

"May I help you?" she asked him.

"Can I speak with him for a moment?" he requested.

The nurse stared at her patient for a moment. She looked reluctant to leave.

"Please?" he pleaded.

The nurse sighed and nodded.

"Three minutes. That's all you get," she said before leaving.

Kevin nodded.

"Thank you," he said as she walked out.

He walked up to Aaren. The blonde looked up at him questioningly. Then he turned his face away angrily.

"I thought we weren't friends," he muttered.

Kevin shrugged and looked out the window. He didn't speak. After a while, Aaren got frustrated.

"Do you plan on answering me, _Stern_?" he asked.

Kevin looked down at his feet and kicked absently at the desk next to Aaren's bed.

"I don't know," he said finally.

Aaren looked angry.

"What the hell, Kev? First, you hang out with those creeps. Then you say we aren't friends and now you kick a soccer ball to my chest? What's wrong with you?" he demanded, throwing his arms up in the air.

Kevin looked away.

"I don't know."

Aaren narrowed his eyes at him.

"That's not an answer, Kev."

Kevin shrugged.

"I don't know," he repeated.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Kevin! I'm in a god damn hospital bed! The nurse said I might need god damn surgery if the damage is too extensive and all you can say is 'I don't know'? You better give me a fucking explanation!" he screeched.

Kevin looked very surprised at his outburst.

Aaren took in a deep breath of air. It had literally hurt to shout – he currently had a giant cast around his body – but he had to get that out of his system. He raised his eyes and Kevin was staring straight at him. He gaped in horror when his friend's dark-colored eyes became distorted and glitchy, like a computer screen with a virus. They flickered for another second before being replaced with the symbols Jace had drawn for him.

"Holy shit..."

Kevin blinked.

"XANA?" Aaren whispered.

Kevin smirked and the XANA symbol appeared on his forehead. Aaren felt faint. He blamed it on his wound.

"That's right. You're friend is under my control, pest."

Kevin's voice was deep and contorted.

"But...How?" he asked.

The XANA-fied Kevin grinned maliciously.

"Simple possession. However, your friend _has_ been putting up quite a fight. It's a constant battle keeping him at bay," the XANA-fied Kevin told him.

"Oh, XANA. You evil bastard," Aaren seethed.

Kevin snorted.

"I am not evil. Mankind is evil. They have corrupted this world with war, famine and plague. They have fought and killed each other over land and money. They do not know how to co-exist without violence. Mankind is the – how do you say? – 'evil bastard' in this world. If mankind did not exist, the world would not be in the sorry state that it's in. I am merely here to make sure that vision is realized."

"Why you..."

Kevin's pupils returned to their previous state as the nurse walked back in. Aaren instantly started yelling.

"He needs to be restrained, Miss! He can't be around anybody! He's dangerous!" Aaren yelled at her.

The light-haired nurse looked at Kevin. His expression was one of sympathy.

"I guess that he still hasn't forgiven me for the accident. I tried to apologize but he won't accept anything I tell him. He told me that he'd never forgive me for as long as I live," he said with a sad voice.

He turned towards the door.

"Nurse, please! Do something!" Aaren yelled.

The XANA-fied Kevin looked down at his feet.

"I hope you get better soon, Aaren," he said, walking out of the hospital room.

"He's lying! Stop him! Tie him down or something!"

"Mr. Della Robbia, you need to calm down!"

As he walked into one of the empty hallways, Kevin's passive expression shifted to hold a sinister smile. He stopped, closed his eyes and concentrated. He searched through the inner recesses of his mind, looking for something.

Finally, he found it...or rather, _him_.

"Mr. Stern. Are you there?"

A/N: Yes, I know that most of my chapters end in cliffhangers. Be HAPPY about it cuz that means that I actually INTEND on finishing the story! XD

Review and I'll update! No review – no update!


	15. Headaches and Heartbreaks

A/N: Am I losing readers or something? Only FOUR reviews! Come on, guys! Pick up the pase!

For reference, the first part of this is all going on inside Kevin's head.

A **LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT LOT **_**LOT**_ of swearing in this chapter.

So if you hate swearing, skip this chapter but if I were you, I wouldn't skip it. It's kinda sad yet informing and makes you feel sorry for... Just read it!

Chapter 14

_Kevin's expression shifted to hold a sinister smile. He closed his eyes and concentrated._

"_Mr. Stern. Are you there?"_

XANA waited for an answer. All was quiet for a while. Finally, he got a response.

_Fucking bastard! Let me out of here, you stupid-ass bitch!_

XANA laughed at Kevin's words. Kevin, however, was not so pleased. He was trapped inside his own brain and couldn't even control his body!

'No need to get so vulgar, Mr. Stern.'

Kevin growled lowly. Inside his head, of course.

_I have a right to. be You've trapped me inside my own mind and now your hurting my friends, asshole! How could you hurt Aaren like that? _Asked the trapped boy.

XANA smirked.

'Actually, that didn't go as planned. I was supposed to kick the ball hard enough to crack the rib and cut open his heart but he caught the ball, stopping the force.'

_You tried to _kill_ him?_

Outraged, Kevin struggled against XANA for control. XANA fought back. It was a battle of mental force as Kevin tried to take back control of his body. On the outside, Kevin's eyes shifted between their usual black color and the Eye of XANA and he was twitching a lot.

_Give me back my body!_ He mentally shouted.

'Not a chance, stupid human. I will not stop until there is no one left to fight against me.'

_Son of a bitch! You're worst than that stupid Scyphozoa!_

Kevin's body froze.

'Excuse me?'

Kevin had noticed lately that XANA hated being compared to any of his monsters. In his 'eyes', they were nothing more than soldiers. Tools meant to do the dirty work for him as he stood on the sidelines, planning.

'What did you call me, Stern?'

_Would you prefer me comparing you to a Krabe or a Kankrelat? You should be grateful that I'm comparing you to that giant blob of jelly. He's probably the best monster you have. There's no way to kill it._

'I am _nothing_ like those useless pieces of junk. I am supreme. I am stronger.'

_And yet you have no body. Real superior_.

Kevin's body shook and XANA was back in control.

'I may need a host to move around in the real world. But you are the unlucky human picked for the task and you will have to deal with it. So sit back and watch me take down your friends, one by one.'

_I swear, when I gain control of my body. You are in for the fight of your fucking life!_

'That may be entertaining to watch, Mr. Stern. So far, you have yet to gain control of even your leg. The same leg I used to internally damage your friend, might I add.'

_Motherfucker! You'd better stay away from all my other friends. If you don't, I'll fuck you up so bad, you'll be bleeding out your fucking electric currents! I swear, you'll be shitting out lightning bolts!_

On the outside, Kevin smirked.

'I can do neither tasks you just said you'll make me do, Mr. Stern. You are such an idiotic excuse for a human.'

_You fucking piece of shit. I swear, I'll kill you. If it's the last thing I'll do, I'll murder you to hell and back._

'Well, while you work on that, I have other things to do. Like destroy your so-called 'friends'.'

The XANA-fied Kevin was about to start walking down the hallway again but he was stopped by a quiet voice.

"Kevin? Can we talk?"

Kevin turned around, his pupils turning back to normal, and his eyes fell on the face of Jace Della Robbia.

_No! Stay the hell away from her! _Shouted the real Kevin.

'Ah, yes. The subject of your affections. Tell me, when exactly were you going to act on your feelings, however insignificant they may be.'

_Shut it._

XANA laughed at him but on the outside, his host's face remained passive.

"Of course. What is this about?" he asked.

Jace blushed and looked at her feet.

"I was going to ask you about Stephanie," she said.

_Oh, you have got to be shitting me._

'I do not believe that is possible, Mr. Stern.'

_It's an idiom, dumbass._

'Such things do not make sense. Now, excuse, Mr. Stern, but I have some work to do.'

On the inside, Kevin grasped the situation he and Jace were in. She was in danger of being hurt. And he would be at fault.

_Jace! Run away! Go away! PLEASE! _Screamed Kevin, but no word left his mouth.

"What about her?" asked the XANA-fied Kevin, looking around.

No one was in the hallway. He could take her out now.

_You so much as lay a fingernail on her and I'll take you out so fast, you won't even feel it._

"Do you really like her?" she asked.

XANA smiled on the inside as a plan formed in his mind. And what a brilliant plan it was.

'Better to break her spirit.'

"Yes, I do. In fact, I think I'm in love with her," said the XANA-fied Kevin.

"Love?" Jace asked weakly, her face falling.

'You humans are so pathetic. This emotion: love. It is nothing more than infatuation and obsession. It is a nuisance and a weakness.'

_Shut the fuck up and take back what you just said._

'I can't do both, you idiot. Neither do I intend to. Now, what do I say now?'

The XANA-fied Kevin nodded.

"Yes. She's really nice and very smart, too. I love her blonde hair and her sparkly blue eyes. She's funny and she's really sweet," he said.

Jace nodded and turned her head to the side, covering her mouth.

_Bastard! You made her cry! And Stephanie couldn't make a clown laugh if she tried, not to mention the fact that she's failing Civics._

'Making Jace Della Robbia cry was the whole point of this charade. Now, time to break her...heart, I believe. You humans make things so complicated.'

"So, you'd never fall for someone else."

She said it as a statement, not as a question. Kevin nodded then smirked.

"Never...especially not someone like you."

Jace looked up at him with wide eyes. She looked at him for a moment, looking for an sign on his face that told her he was lying. The XANA-fied Kevin held his expressionless facade. She nodded once before turning around and running away, crying.

_JACE!_

The force of Kevin's emotion was so strong that he managed to take back control for one second.

"Jace, wait!" he shouted before losing the battle, once more.

He fell to the ground, writhing in pain. She didn't look back.

A/N: XANA's a son of a bxxch. But you gotta admit, this was an interesting chapter. Strange but – err- sad? Nice? ( –_–*)

REVIEW PLEASE!

Ya'll need to come to a vote on Aaren's outfit. Should it be an animal (and please mention _what_ animal) or should it just be a cool outfit?

REVIEW YOUR ANSWERS! YOU CONTROL THE STORY!


	16. That Tears It!

A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed! This is a very emotional chapter...I'm sorta bipolar so if this chapter seems to be a little hard to make sense of, sorry! XD

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

Chapter 15

Jace ran all the way to her dorm room, crying. How could he say something like that to her? And was it true? Jace closed the door behind her and came face to face with none other than Emma Stern. The brown-haired female's eyes widened as she took in her friend's appearance. Her hands were clenched into fists, her nose was red and her eyes were filled with tears. Mina instantly rushed forward to hug her friend.

"Oh my god. Jace, what happened?" she asked.

Jace's body shook as she let the tears out. She pulled away, sniffling. She rubbed at Emma's shoulder.

"S-sorry. I'm r-ruining your shirt," she apologized.

Emma frowned and placed a hand on Jace's shoulder.

"Hey, it's nothing. It's just a shirt. Jace. What happened to you? Why are you crying?" she asked in genuine concern.

Jace's lip turned down in a frown and she sat down on her bed. She brought her knees close to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"Your brother happened to me," she answered.

Emma placed her hands on her hips in disapproval.

"Okay, what did he do this time? I swear, I'm going to kick the shit out of him after what he did to Aaren," she said in an angry tone.

Jace sniffled and started crying again. Emma went to her side and sat next to her. She hugged her tightly, covering her with her arms. She let Jace cry on her shoulder. After a few minutes of wailing and heavy tears, Jace finally pulled away from Emma. The brunette stared at her worriedly.

"Look, whatever Kevin did...It can't be that bad," she said.

Jace shook her head.

"Please don't say his name. I don't want to talk about him," she told her.

Emma frowned.

"Well, I can't help you if you won't tell me what Ke – err – my brother did," she said to Jace.

Emma ran a hand over Jace's purple highlights, trying to calm her down. The tiny teen sighed and sniffled slightly.

"He said that...he'd never _ever_ love anyone but Stephanie. Not me. No one," she confessed.

The brunette gasped. Jace looked up at Emma had a murderous expression on her face.

"Uh, Em? Is something-"

Emma got up and pulled Jace to her feet. When Jace was up, the brunette grabbed her hand and dragged her out of her room. She looked ready to kill someone.

"Em, where are we going?" she asked.

"We are going to settle this little dispute between you and my brother. He's the biggest idiot on the entire planet and if he doesn't see the light, I am going to stick a freaking _light bulb _in his brain!" she declared.

Jace groaned.

"Look, I am _not _going to-"

"Did I say that you had a choice in this?" she asked loudly, coming to a halt.

Jace tried to shush her.

"Em, you're making a big deal out of no-"

"Don't you say nothing!" she yelled. "You and that boy make goo-goo eyes at each other half the time I see the two of you together! You practically drool every time one of you walks into the room! You guys smile and laugh and make each other happy! Do you know how frustrating it is to see two people who are in love with each other and won't realize it?"

Jace backed away. Emma had never gotten this angry before. She vaguely realized that Emma was squeezing her hand so hard that it was turning purple.

"Uh..."

"Don't you 'Uh' me! It's freaking annoying and so help me God I will get the two of you together or I'll lock you two in a chest and throw you into the Pacific Ocean! So don't you _dare_ try and stop me!" she shouted.

"Em, calm down," she said.

"No, _you _calm down!" she shrieked.

Jace twitched.

"Emma. I don't want to force anything on your brother. He's with Stephanie now, anyway, so it would be bad for him to even consider-"

"Oh my god, do you even _hear_ your self right now?" she asked, letting go of Jace's hand – _thankfully_ – and placing her hands on her hips.

Jace rolled her eyes.

"Emma. I know how I feel about him. Believe me, I'd really like to be with him and know that he loves me the way I love _him_...but, I just don't see it happening. Not after what just happened," she explained.

Emma groaned.

"Jesus, Mary, Joseph! The two of you totally _suck_!" she complained.

"Well, I don't know about the boy but you're right about Jace."

Both girls looked up to see the blonde-haired cheerleader they had been speaking about moments before. Stephanie smiled snidely and faced Jace. The two girls behind her crossed their arms across their chests. It would've been threatening if the girls weren't five feet tall and all size 3's.

Seriously, it was hard to be afraid of some short, skinny girl with less muscle in her arms than a leaf.

"Jasmine. I _really_ think that the reason Kevin doesn't want to go out with you is because you're just not very..._feminine_," she said.

The two girls behind her giggled. Jace scoffed.

"Did I ask for your opinion?" she retorted.

Stephanie shook her head.

"No. But it seems that you'll need it. Kevin and I have been having _so_ much fun. I can't remember ever feeling so loved," she bragged.

Emma took one step forward.

"You're stepping on the line, woman. Better watch it," she threatened her.

Stephanie raised an eyebrow.

"And what exactly are you going to do about it?" she challenged.

Jace laughed and walked closer to Stephanie until they were face to face.

"Look here, Missy. Emma's not the one you'll have to be worrying about if you keep this up any longer," she warned.

"Ooh! I'm sooo scared! I'm shaking in shoes!" she said.

"It's 'boots', moron," Emma told her.

"Now, move along, bitch," said Jace, shooing them away with her hand.

Stephanie scoffed.

"Crazy," she muttered.

"Oh, you have no idea!" Jace said, moving forward to get up in her face.

Stephanie responded by taking her challenge and pushing her. The two girls looked ready to murder each other. Emma held Jace back while the two girls held Stephanie back.

"What? You think you're bad ass just because you're the principle's daughter? Huh?" asked Stephanie.

Jace smirked, still trying to get her hands on the blonde.

"You fucking hypocrite. You think you're better than everyone else just because you're the cheerleading captain. Filthy piece of crap," Jace fired back.

"Oh, you and your little pack of hounds can go to hell! Along with that stupid mutt you keep in your room!" said Stephanie.

Both Emma and Jace froze.

"Did she just dis Kiwi 2.0?" asked Emma.

Jace nodded. Emma glared at Stephanie.

"Whoops," she said, 'accidentally' letting go of Jace.

The cheerleader wasn't prepared for the assault. Neither were her friends. They stood back as Stephanie took the beating.

"This is for dissing my dog!" Jace said, punching her face.

"This is for your know-it-all, piece-of-shit attitude!"

She punched her again.

"This is for you and your stupid boyfriend!"

Jace whacked Stephanie across the head. With one final blow, she elbowed Stephanie in the gut. The cheerleader screamed in pain. Before Jace could land another blow, she was pulled off by three security guards. Another nurse rushed to Stephanie's side. The blonde whacked her hands away, ashamed of losing the fight.

The guards started dragging Jace away to the office.

"Hey, aren't you gonna take me away, too?" asked Emma.

The guard looked her up and down.

"Did you help this young girl start the fight?" asked one guard,

"You could say that..." she trailed off.

Jace chuckled. It was good to have friends. The guard shrugged.

"Come along," he said.

Emma was right beside her the whole time. They dumped Jace on one of the seats in the waiting room of the office. Emma sat next to her. Jace looked sad and angry but satisfied with her actions. Emma laughed.

Then something popped up into her head.

"By the way...you never said what that last hit was for," she told her friend.

The teenage girl chuckled and looked out the window.

"That one was for me."

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

A/N: Like it? Hate it? Too long? Too short? REVIEW PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!


	17. Mina Vs Kevin

A/N: I'm updating today cuz I won't be able to update for a few days. I would've updated yesterday but it was my sister's birthday. XD

**Effin Emo's Most Wanted: Rose Borja. Blame her for my late updates.**

Woohoo! Fighting scenes! …Yeah, that's about it...

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

Chapter 16

It was Saturday, the day of the dance. It was also the day of the Martial Arts competition. Jace, Caleb, Mina and even the XANA-fied Kevin all signed up. Aaren was still in the school's infirmary – they had sedated him so that he wouldn't feel any pain – so he couldn't even attend. Jacob had gone off with some of his friends to attend an early movie. Emma just wanted to watch instead of participating. Annie's reason for not participating was also to keep an eye on Kevin. Ever since the accident, she had chosen to remain cautious so she took the competition as an opportunity to observe Kevin's radical behavior.

"Did you talk to him?" she had asked Jace.

The teen had not replied, immediately switching to another subject. No one else had spoken to Kevin because he had been hanging out with two types of groups lately. He was either with the cheerleaders or that group of soccer boys who were dressed mainly in black clothes. Kevin retained his normal attire but his attitude was totally different now. He frequently told jokes but a lot of them were discriminating and mean. He bullied some of the younger kids and even stuffed someone into the locker Friday night.

Annie was getting worried.

They arrived at Kadic's Gym and saw that it was fully of different competitors. All of them wore the same uniform but they came in different colors. There were hundreds of students in the bleachers that had been pulled out from their spots on the walls and the cheerleaders had also been called to attend.

Jace, Caleb, Mina, Emma and Annie sat at the bottom of the bleachers and waited for the competition to begin. There were twelve other fighters, nine boys – three of which consisted of Kevin's new 'friends' – and three girls. The matches were mixed-gender so everyone had an opportunity to test their strengths against the other sex. Neither Jace nor Mina said that they minded as thee four teens stretched their muscles before the tournament started.

Right before the matches were about to start, Lizzy walked up to their group.

"So what's up with Emo Boy?" she asked, referring to Kevin. "Did he finally find out that you guys were too much of a group of freaks and decide to leave?"

"Shut up, Lizzy," said Jace.

"Why don't _you_ shut up, Jasmine?" she retorted.

"Why don't you _make_ me?" she challenged, getting all up in Lizzy's face.

"You're lucky that Gramps let you off with nothing but a warning yesterday. You get into another fight and you'll be scrubbing toilets and washing dishes," Lizzy said with a satisfied smirk.

Jace moved forward to hit her sister but Mina and Caleb managed to hold her back this time.

"She's not worth it, Jace. Go take your anger out on your opponent instead of getting in trouble," Mina whispered in her ear.

Lizzy sneered at them and left. Jace shrugged Mina and Caleb off and turned around, fuming.

"Oh, I feel sorry for her opponent," Emma told Annie.

The pinkette nodded.

Finally, the announcer, Pete Morales, got on the stage that they had set up at the front of the Gym and called everyone to attention.

"Alright, everyone. Settle down!" he said into the microphone.

Everyone sat down.

"Thanks, all of you, for coming to Kadic's first ever Mixed Martial Arts Competition!"

The crowd cheered loudly. Mina was whistling. Pete motioned for them to settle down and continued with his speech.

"The matches will be decided at random, no matter the gender. They will be shown on this screen, right here." He pointed at the screen right above the stage. "Since there are sixteen competitors we will have a semi-preliminary round in which eight people will move on, a preliminary round in which the eight fighters will be narrowed to four, the semi-finals in which the four remaining fighter will fight for the Top Two. Then there will be the final round, where the two fighters will fight for first place. Now, without further ado...Let the games BEGIN!"

The crowd cheered and four mats were placed on the floor of the Gym. The first four matches were shown on the screen. Jace was matched up against a boy named Thomas Gauthier and Caleb was matched up against Lorenzo Garcia.

Mina was matched up against Kevin Stern.

"Good luck," Annie and Emma told her.

She nodded and walked up towards the first mat and faced the dark-haired teen. He wore a black uniform that contrasted with her white one.

Mina noticed that his pupils looked larger than usual but shrugged it off. They walked up to the middle. She offered to shake his hands but he just stared at her blankly. She pulled her hand away awkwardly.

The referee came to the middle and looked at both of them. He wore the usual black and white striped shirt and black pants but a giant K was printed in black in the middle of his shirt.

"Are you two ready?" he asked.

Both Kevin and Mina nodded and took their fighting positions. Mina kept her feet apart and fisted her hands in the usual fighting stance for Tai Kwon Do. Kevin just placed on hand behind his back and held the other on up at a 135 degree angle. It was a Muay Thai stance.

"Alright. The first contestant that knocks the other down three times wins," he said.

They both nodded.

"Ready? Fight!"

He backed away and the fight begun. Kevin threw a kick at Mina, she jumped back and spun around to launch a kick at Kevin's side but he managed to grab her leg with his hand and twisted it so that she lost her balance and fell to the ground, landing on her shoulder.

"One – Zero," said the referee.

Kevin backed away and Mina got to her feet.

"Are you alright?" the referee asked her.

She nodded. Mina took her previous position but Kevin took a different fighting position. He was standing on one leg with both arms extended, one in front of him, the other behind him.

"Ready? Fight!"

Mina ran forward and tried to kick Kevin but he spun around and avoided the attack. She wasn't prepared for the next attack. He back flipped and his leg shot out to kick Mina on her head. She crashed to the floor, flat on her face.

"Two-Zero."

Mina got to her feet and rubbed her eye; it was beginning to throb. Kevin smirked at her as the referee checked her over.

What the hell was his problem? First, he ditched them and now he's kicking her ass and _enjoying_ it? Mina had enough.

The referee said that she could still fight and she met Kevin at the middle. They took their positions again. Mina switched her stance, leaning on one leg with the other out in front of her with her arms extended before her. Kevin chose to go back to his first stance with one hand behind him.

The referee looked between the two of them.

"Ready? Fight!"

Mina launched a roundhouse kick at Kevin's feet which he easily avoided by jumping upwards but she twisted her body so that her foot was up in the air. She pushed up as Kevin came down and her foot collided with his chin. His head snapped backwards as he fell to the floor. Mina jumped to her feet as Kevin slowly rose from his place on the mat.

"Two-One," announced the referee.

Mina and Kevin got into position once more and face each other, each taking the same position as before. The referee looked between the two of them and nodded in satisfaction.

"Ready? Fight!"

Mina ran to kick Kevin but he grabbed her foot like the first time. Except, this time, he pulled her forward and started punching her side. She fell down and he still attacked her, hitting her everywhere. The referee had to pull him away. He showed the boy a yellow flag.

"That's your first warning," he said. "Another one and you're out."

He ran to Mina's side; she had a hard time getting up. She ached from wherever Kevin had punched her. She had a busted lip and a swollen cheek and her ribs hurt.

"Sorry, but you are no longer able to fight," he said. "You lost, anyway but you did a good job. Go sit down."

She nodded. Emma and Annie ran to her side to help her get to her seat on the bleachers. Once she was seated the questions started up.

"Holy crap, Mina!" said Emma.

"Are you alright?" asked Annie.

"What happened?" they asked in unison.

Mina glared at Kevin who was looking at the screen. She looked up to.

"That happened."

The screen was showing Mina being brutally assaulted by Kevin.

He was smiling the whole time.

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

A/N: Good? Bad? Want me to continue? REVIEW!


	18. Jace Vs XANA

A/N: Worst weekend of my effin life! First, I woke up late so I couldn't go to that effin workshop about diabetes – not that I don't already know what it does to the body, I took health class – and I didn't get service hours then my effin aunt decided to leave me with the three troublemakers. Of course, when we got back home, she thought that it would be a good idea to rearrange all my effin stuff in my room and make me paint the effin thing all over again. Of course, I had forgotten that my effin computer was so effin heavy and it bonked me on the effin forehead! Of course, we _had_ to paint the effin ceiling and that did _not_ do wonders for my effin neck. I had to sit at the top of a tall-ass ladder that was wobbling the whole effin time! And guess what song was playing on my effin playlist while I was at the top of the effin contraption. 'Don't Let Me Fall' by B.O.B.! I was _not_ comforted! I had to move my effin shelf, my effin bed and my effin TV all around the effin room and I didn't even get _anything_. No 'good job', no 'it's a lot better' or something like that. You know what I effin got? 'You're done for today'.

WHAT THE EFF!

And guess what my aunt was blasting out of the stereo the next effin day! Island music! So much effin island music! I don't mean like Kolohe Kai or anyone like that. I'm talking effin LOCAL music! I went from effin

'_Ilek-hu, 'Lacha'chai lacha-cha-cha-chai_

_Munga na hunayan ma'udai'_

to effin

'_Ilek-na, 'Basta gumimen_

_Pot fabot, asagua-hu'_

From Daniel, to K.C. To the effin CASTRO BROTHERS! Jesus effin Christ! I'd rather have listened to Malafunkshun but NOOOOOO! My aunt just HAD to listen to Chamorro music! It's effin annoying!

And now it's an effin MONDAY!

…

And the world's longest Author's Rant has come to an end.

-B-O-R-D-E-R

Chapter 17

The competition went by quickly. The semi-preliminary and preliminary rounds went by without further incident and they were finally at the semi-final round. The four remaining fighter were Kevin, of course, Jace, Russel Vainer and a brown-haired boy named Patrick Cruz. Caleb had been beaten in the preliminary round by Russel.

"Okay, everyone! Now, we are in the semi-final match where our remaining four challengers will fight for the chance to move on to the finals and fight for the championship. The rules of these matches will be first to two points wins! Our first match will be between Russel Vainer and...Patrick Cruz!"

Th crowd let out a huge roar of approval as the two fighters got to the mat. They stood in the middle and the referee walked up to them.

"I want a good, clean fight. Alright?" he asked.

The two fighters nodded.

On the sidelines, Mina scoffed.

"That guy's been playing dirty the whole competition. Guarantee, he's going to pull some sick moves," she said.

Caleb nodded in agreement. Emma and Annie just shrugged.

Russel and Patrick got ready to fight and looked at the referee.

"Ready?" he asked.

They nodded.

"Fight!"

Patrick rushed forward but Russel dodged him by moving left and used his arm to hit Patrick's neck, causing him to fly backwards and fall on his back. Patrick grunted as he landed.

"One-Zero!" announced the referee.

"Told you," said Mina.

The crowd cheered and the cheerleaders formed a pyramid at the side of the Gym.

Russel laughed as Patrick got to his feet, rubbing his neck. The black-haired boy smirked as he got into his usual fighting position; hands fisted, feet apart. Patrick grimaced and held his hands out in front of him, keeping his feet only inches from each other.

The referee looked them over.

"Ready? Fight!"

Russel moved forward and tried to kick Patrick but Patrick dodged right and landed a punch on Russel's shoulder. Russel backed away and waited for Patrick to make another move. Patrick stared at his opponent for a few seconds before running and throwing a jumping-kick at Russel. The dark-haired boy smirked and dodged to the side before grabbing Patrick by the neck and slamming him to the ground. Then he made himself fall forward so that his elbow landed on Patrick's chest, causing him to spit out whatever liquid was in his mouth – mainly saliva.

Some of the crowd gasped but most of them cheered.

The referee pulled Russel off of Patrick and wagged his finger in front of him.

"Once he's down, he's _down_! Leave him be when that happens. Alright?" he warned.

Russel nodded but his mouth twisted into a malicious grin.

"Vainer wins!" announced Pete.

The crowd cheered and Russel raised his arms in victory. He was called down from the mat and Pete started speaking into the mic, again.

"Alright! Vainer is moving onto the final round! Now, our next match is between Jasmine Della Robbia and Kevin Stern."

Half the crowd went silent and half the crowd laughed.

"Is he _serious_?" asked Caleb.

"This is going to be _very _ interesting," said Emma, with a laugh.

"What do you mean?" asked Annie.

Mina and Caleb both looked up at her.

"Did you _see_ Jace, yesterday?" Emma asked.

They all shook their heads. The brunette smirked.

"You'll see."

The two fighters walked up to the mat, Jace in her usual purple uniform and Kevin in his black one. She had added something else to her outfit, though.

A purple band wrapped around her forehead. The end of the material reached her shoulder blades. She stared at him angrily and he just looked back coldly.

_Jesus fucking Christ! Of all the people I could _possibly_ be paired up with! _Shouted the real Kevin.

'Hm. This is quite convenient.'

_Convenient, my ass. I forfeit!_

'It doesn't quite work that way, Mr. Stern. I have to start a match so settle down,' said XANA.

The XANA-fied Kevin walked up to the middle of the mat to meet Jace. His eyes began to flicker when he saw the head band. Jace blinked and his eyes were back to normal.

She shook her head slightly. She must have imagined it.

_Holy shit. Why would she..._

'Keep your emotions to a minimum, Stern. I need to concentrate,' said XANA.

_Oh, no. Jace..._

"Ready?" asked the referee.

The two fighters nodded.

"Fight!"

Both Jace and Kevin kept their distance from each other. Whenever one would move one way, the opponent moved the other. They kept it like that for a few moments before Kevin rushed forward and tried to hit Jace. She backed away and spun around once, her foot colliding with his face. Kevin stumbled backwards, rubbing his face before running forward to kick Jace. She blocked the kick and moved forward in a front flip, the edge of her foot hit Kevin on the head, causing him to hit the floor.

The crowd cheered as Jace backed away quickly, her fists clenched.

"Zero-One!" announced the referee.

Kevin growled in anger as he got to his feet. Jace's eyes widened when his pupils flickered again. This time, they changed and Kevin's eyes now held the Eye of XANA. Jace gasped and backed away.

"Holy shit," she said.

Mina, Caleb, Emma and Annie all stood up. They had seen the symbol, too.

"Crap! Well, _this_ explains everything," said Mina.

The referee walked up to Kevin.

"Boy, are you alr-"

He was cut off when Kevin grabbed him by his collar and threw across the room. He hit the floor at the foot of the bleachers with an audible _crash_. Jace backed away and ran off the stage to where her friends were at.

The crowd gasped as Kevin faced them. His new friends, Matthew Allin, Russel Vainer, Jack Rossier, Orlando Potter and Ian Blaise, all came to his side. The only difference was that now they, too, had the Eye of XANA plastered on their eyes.

Kevin smirked and raised a hand.

The crowd went silent.

"We are here to destroy you."

That was all he said before shooting electricity at the nearest group of people, which happened to be the cheerleading squad. They flew in different directions but Stephanie and Lizzy both landed in front of Jace and her friends.

"That's karma if I've ever seen it," said Jace.

"We've got to get out of here," said Annie.

"How? It's pandemonium in here!" said Caleb, throwing his hands in the air.

Instead of answering, Emma shoved her elbow through the nearest window and jumped out.

"That's convenient," said Annie as she followed her friend.

Caleb moved towards the window when he saw that Mina and Jace were still standing in front of the bleachers.

"Aren't you guys coming?" he asked.

Mina shook her head.

"No. We'll stay and try to keep anymore people from getting hurt," she said,

Jace nodded.

"You're going to _fight_ them?" he asked incredulously.

Mina and Jace both looked at each other before nodding.

"Find Aaren and bring him to the scanners. He should be awake by now. The medical report said that he can walk so get him to Lyoko. Something tell me that XANA's got _quite_ a few monsters ready for you," said Mina.

Caleb nodded and jumped out the window. Jace and Mina turned around to see that Orlando and Ian were blocking the exits and Matthew was headed straight for them. Mina grabbed the thing nearest to her, which happened to be pipe beneath the bleachers, and hit him over the head with it.

Orlando fell but a bolt of electricity came flying towards them and hit the pipe, shocking Mina. She fell to the ground with a groan. Jace knelt next to her.

"Mina? You alright?" she asked worriedly.

Mina chuckled.

"I forgot that metal conducts electricity," she muttered, getting up.

"Can you walk?" asked Jace.

Mina smirked.

"I can do more than that. Let's get these bastards."

Jace grinned and nodded.

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

A/N: I know, I leave the worst cliffhangers ever! There's only ONE SOLUTION! REVIEW! If you want another chapter, I better see some reviews!


	19. Battle Royale

A/N: 89 good reviews...1 bad review...I'm a failure! *sniff* Okay, emo-ness over.

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

Chapter 18

Caleb. Annie and Emma ran to the infirmary. The nurse was walking around, somewhere, so there was no one watching the rooms. Aaren was laying on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. He turned his head sharply when he heard them bust in through the door.

He looked at their terrified and breathless faces and blinked once.

"Let me guess. XANA's taken over Kevin and now he's wrecking havoc somewhere on campus," Aaren said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You knew?" they all shouted.

"Yeah. Sort of," he said.

"And _why_ didn't you tell us?" Emma demanded.

Aaren frowned.

"I think I was kind of, oh, I don't know – _sedated_," Aaren said sarcastically.

Annie sighed in exasperation.

"Okay, who cares. We need to get you to the factory and get you scanned," she said.

"Why?" he asked.

They all looked at him like he was nuts.

"What? I mean, you guys can always fill me in when you do that 'Return to the Past' thing," he said.

"Maybe I don't _want _to spend another day teaching you about Lyoko," said Annie. "So we might as well get you into Lyoko."

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm in a hospital bed," Aaren told her.

Annie grumbled.

"Yeah but you're not disabled so get off your ass! Caleb will carry you," she said.

Her brother raised his eyebrows at her.

"I never agreed to that," he said.

Annie glared at him.

"Caleb Reno Schaeffer Belpois! This is a time of crisis so it's time to put your problems aside and do whatever it is the hell I'm telling you. I swear, I will castrate you and feed your balls to Jace's dog if you don't get Aaren on your back _now_!" she said angrily.

Caleb's eyes widened in fear and did what he was told. He was pretty sure she would follow through on that threat but you never knew with Annie. Caleb threw off Aaren's blanket and hoisted him onto his back. He shuddered.

"Ugh! This is _so _ wrong!" he complained.

"Hey, this isn't exactly the most comfortable position for me either, y'know!" retorted Aaren.

Annie smacked her forehead and sighed. She pointed at the door.

"Factory. Now."

"Yes, ma'am," said Caleb, running out the door.

"Your sister's nuts," Aaren whispered to Caleb.

"No kidding," he answered.

Emma and Annie were right behind him.

"I can hear you guys, y'know," she said.

Caleb sped up.

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

"I'm pretty sure this counts as sexual harassment."

Jace rolled her eyes at her friend who was currently pinned down next to her by Russel. Jace was pinned to the ground by Kevin. They were on the stage.

"This is more like an invasion of personal space," Jace told Mina, struggling to get free.

The blue-haired teen laughed.

"Yeah, but you seem to be enjoying it," she said, freeing her arms and punching Russel in the face.

Most of the people who had been on the bleachers had either fainted from fear or had been knocked out by one of XANA's electric spheres. Only a few of the fighters had been able to keep themselves conscious and were currently fighting against XANA's other goons.

Patrick Cruz fought against Matthew Allin. Thomas Gauthier was fighting Ian Blaise. Lorenzo Garcia was up against Orlando Potter and a red-haired boy named Adrian Summers teamed up with _Pete – _yes, Pete –to fight Jack Rossier.

There was a loud siren blaring from the parking lot. Many of the crowd had been unable to get out of the Gym but a few _had_ managed to get themselves free and the Gym was now surrounded by police.  
"THIS IS THE POLICE! WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED! COME OUT SLOWLY WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!" shouted the officer-in-charge.

"Oh, yeah. Like their _really _going to listen," Mina said sarcastically, dodging a blow from Russel.

Jace got her legs free and managed to kick Kevin off of her. She got to her feet quickly and ran to Mina until their backs were facing each other.

"So I take it we got each other's backs?" Mina asked.

Jace nodded and watched Kevin closely. He and Russel stalked around them, causing them to move around in a careful circle.

"Dude, your boyfriend is a maniac," Mina told Jace.

"He's not my boyfriend but, no kidding," she said.

They moved around in a circle, contemplating their strategy.

"Attack Vainer on three," Mina whispered.

Kevin and Russel both narrowed their eyes at them. Mina glared back.

"One...two...THREE!"

Both girls launched forward and kicked Russel square on the chest, causing him to fly backwards, off the stage. He hit the ground hard and was instantly knocked unconscious. Mina let out a short whoop.

"One down, one to go – UGH!"

Mina was hit by a bolt of electricity and flew forward, off the stage, landing next to Russel. She, too, fell unconscious. Jace turned around in fright and came face-to-face with Kevin. She gulped and took in a small breath.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked bluntly.

The XANA-fied Kevin smirked.

"I'm actually considering that," he answered.

"If you're going to destroy me, you're gonna have to beat me, first," she said, lifting up her fists.

Kevin snickered and stretched his muscles. He popped his fingers and neck.

"No problem."

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

Annie, Emma, Caleb and Aaren managed to get to the factory in a little amount of time and were now in the scanner room. Caleb pulled Aaren off of his back and helped him into one of the scanners.

"Can you stand?" he asked.

Aaren nodded, leaning against the inner walls of the scanner. Caleb nodded in satisfaction and turned to Annie.

"Who's going in first?" he asked.

"You, Aaren and Emma go to Lyoko. I'll work the super computer. I've been working on a new program that will give you guys better means of transportation. Besides, you haven't been scanned either. This will save us much effort on our part when we do the time revision. Now, get in!" she ordered.

Caleb and Emma nodded and got into the scanners while Annie climbed up the ladder into the computer room. She placed the head piece on her head and adjusted the microphone.

"Guys, you'll be virtualized into the Ice Sector. That's where the tower is. I'll tell Jasper and he'll take a Way Tower there," she said.

"Got it," they replied.

Anni clicked a few keys and began the virtualization process.

"Transfer Aaren. Transfer Caleb. Transfer Emma."

A puff of strong air shot up from the vents beneath the scanners.

"Cool," said Aaren.

Annie chuckled.

"Scanner Aaren. Scanner Caleb. Scanner Emma."

They were scanned within the hollow cylinder and they felt themselves being lifted up. Annie nodded in satisfaction and clicked ENTER.

"Virtualization."

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

A/N: Review but please no flames!


	20. Back To Lyoko

A/N: Do I disappoint? Man, I suck. 101 reviews! I love you guys!

Chapter 19

Back at Kadic...

"You fight very well for a female," said the possessed Kevin.

"Thanks," said Jace, dodging one of Kevin's punches.

She punched his stomach before backhanding the side of his face. Kevin backed away.

"I do not believe I meant to compliment you. I was simply stating an opinion," he said, trying to kick her head.

"Nice opinion," she answered.

Jace ducked and back flipped away from Kevin.

XANA was very well-trained in Martial Arts. So was she. She deflected one of Kevin's punches with the back of her hand and punched him in the face. Then she kicked him away, causing him to fall onto his back. Backing up, now that she had space, she watched her opponent closely. Kevin looked pretty carefree as he got back to his feet. He shook his head rapidly before getting back into his fighting position.

He smirked.

"I see so much of your father in you, Jasmine," he said. "Courage, definitely. But you have this strange quality about you. Artistic and emotional yet in control. Maybe, I should've chosen to possess _you_. After all, you _do_ have more power because of your mother and father's position," he said.

All of a sudden, Kevin frowned.

"Your father and his colleagues were the most idiotic beings on Earth. They had no idea what they were doing in their quest to destroy me. It would have been so much easier for them to have let me handle Earth's problems. Your father was the dumbest of the group. Ugh!" he grunted, flying to the floor.

Jace stared at Kevin. Her leg was still in the air from where she had kicked him in the side. She look infuriated.

"Don't you _dare_ talk about Odd Della Robbia that way," she said in a threatening tone.

The XANA-fied Kevin smirked and raised his arms in front of her, separating his feet by about 10 inches.

"And what exactly are _you_ going to do about, Ms. Della Robbia?" he asked, running forward to attack her.

Jace spun around in a round house kick and managed to hit Kevin on the side of his body. Kevin backed away, slowly.

"Damn, this stupid human body!" he cursed.

Jace raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong, XANA? Can't take a little pain?" she taunted.

The XANA-fied Kevin stood up straight.

"Normally, I don't feel anything when I possess a human body but Mr. Stern has so much...pent-up emotion. All this-this-this...hate, pain, happiness, inner strength, anger, jealousy, and one that I can't comprehend..._love_. This amount of emotion cause me to feel pain. It's like I've merged with Mr. Stern," he said.

Jace smirked.

"Well, at least, I know Kevin hasn't given up," she said.

"He's quite persistent. It's _very_ irritating," he said, attempting a butterfly kick.

Jace grunted as it hit her but she quickly recovered.

"Then why don't you just _let him go_?" she asked.

The possessed Kevin smirked.

"Because I really need a human vessel to walk this earth. Mr. Stern was probably not the best choice but his body is definitely preferable. Such a high reputation and so much respect. He's able to get anyone to do what he wants and everyone adores him."

Kevin grinned, launching a kick at her gut.

"Even you."

Jace frowned but managed to block his attack.

She was getting tired.

He tried to kick her again but Jace moved backwards, dodging it. However, his arm shot out and grabbed her elbow. He pulled her forward and raised his hand to punch her. Jace closed her eyes and turned away.

"Ugh!"

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

Annie searched through the different sectors, looking for Jasper (A/N: That's his name now, okay?). Finally, she found him. The red-haired boy was resting in a tower.

"Jasper."

He blinked once, dark pupils becoming visible.

"Oh. Hello, Anita," he greeted her.

"Hi, Jasper. A tower's been deactivated," she said.

Jasper nodded.

"I can feel the vibrations of energy. It's been like that for a while now but never this strong. May I ask what is going on?" he questioned.

"XANA has possessed Kevin. You need to de-activate the tower that's controlling him. Emma, Caleb and Aaren are being materialized on Lyoko. I think, it would be a good idea for you to meet up with them."

Jasper nodded.

"Where?" he asked.

"The Desert Sector."

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

Emma, Caleb and Aaren were all materialized on Lyoko. There was a faint _thud_ and two 'Ow!'s as the three teens hit the ground. Emma looked at her friends. Aaren had landed on his stomach and Caleb had landed on his back.

"Sorry, guys. I forgot to warn you about the landing," she said, balancing her giant fan on her shoulder.

"Whoa, that's a _big_ fan," Aaren commented, getting to his feet. "Hey, I can walk!"

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," said Caleb.

While Aaren was rejoicing, Caleb was staring at him with an amused expression. After a while, Aaren noticed that both Caleb _and_ Emma were staring at him, looking like they were both about to break out into laughter. It gave him a paranoid feeling, like he was about to explode into peanut butter and jelly or something.

"What?" he finally asked, irritated.

Emma burst out into giggles.

"No offense, Aaren, but you're so _adorable_!" she shouted.

"Huh?"

"Dude, you should see yourself," said Caleb, grinning.

"What?" he asked again.

They sighed in exasperation.

"Look at your _outfit_!" they both said in unison.

Aaren looked down and his eyes widened at what he saw.

"Aw, you have _got_ to be kidding me!"

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

A/N: Cliffie! I don't care if they're annoying! They keep you guessing and reviewing! Expect to see updates Tuesday and Thursday! Thanksgiving week!

I was actually planning on making it a lot shorter than this but, I guess, I was in a good mood so I made it about this long. Review if you want a happy ending...or see Aaren's outfit!


	21. Love

A/N: Thanks to everyone for the reviews! Yeah, I'm a nutso. I believe that Aaren is Erik-Silver's favorite character – forgive me if I'm wrong – so Erik/Tanner(XD), this chapter's been dedicated to you.

On with the story!

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

Chapter 20

Jace waited for the painful blow from Kevin's fist but it never came. Slowly, she opened one eye to reveal that Kevin was still standing in front of her, fist in mid-air, body stock-still.

"What the hell?"

Little did she know the turmoil boiling within the dark-haired teenager.

'Impossible.'

_Only to you, it is!_ The real Kevin replied.

He had not been able to take back control of his body but he had been able to stop XANA from doing any more damage by leaving his body in a dormant-like state. Alive and breathing but unable to move.

'I can not believe this! You are ruining all the work I've done!' XANA said, angrily.

Kevin chuckled inwardly.

_Work? That's not WORK! That's CHAOS! DESTRUCTION! MISERY! PAIN! There's no good! Only bad! Everything you touch turns to ruin!_

'That may be true. But it will benefit the world. Destroying mankind will benefit the world.'

_How can you say that when it's MANKIND who created you?_

'That's the only thing they got right. Computers. Technology. But all these emotions! Hate, fear, discrimination, selfishness, sadness, misery, so much pain. You could be so advanced, so strong, powerful and great. But, you are truly a poor world. Dwindling resources, starvation, war...You are destroying yourselves along with this planet. You are the cause of your own misery.'

_You've forgotten something, XANA._

'And what is that?'

_We also love. We are capable of great compassion. I may not be the best at it, but I can love. I _have_ loved and I _do_ love. I love my family. I love my friends. What can you love? What can a computer love?_

'I do not comprehend love. It's no definite emotion. It's nothing but a distraction.'

_Maybe. But love is a powerful thing. It drives you to protect the ones you love._

'Yet you protect this girl. Someone you have admitted to not loving.'

That's when Kevin became silent. That's when he finally realized something.

_But I do._

'Do what?'

_I do love her._

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

"Of all the ridiculous costumes in the world, I get THIS?"

Aaren looked down at his outfit, miserably. He had _claws_ and_ paws_! Three fingers and one thumb! There was something seriously wrong with that! His outfit was red! Like, bright red!

"It's not even bright! It's dark red!" Emma had told him.

Well, it _felt_ bright! He looked like some kind of jacked up red fox! He even had a tail! A big, fluffy, white-tipped, red tail! Not to mention his ears! They were big and wide. About the size of his hands-err-paws! And he also had whiskers! Tattooed one's on his cheeks but it was still so...retarded.

"You're so cute!" exclaimed Emma.

"Ow! Stop yelling! My ears are sensitive!" he complained, covering said appendages.

"No shit, Sherlock," Caleb laughed out.

"Haha! So funny! You're lucky! _You_ don't look like an over-grown species of DOG!" Aaren said, pointing a claw at him.

Caleb laughed but he _had_ to agree with Aaren. His outfit looked pretty normal compared to Aaren's and Emma's. He had on a black leather (A/N: the rough kind...not the stretchy squeaky kind *shudders*) jacket with single, blue stripes going down the arms and sides. He also had on black leather pants with blue stripes on the sides, too. In the middle of his black gloves, there was a metallic contraption that formed a circle in the middle of his palm. Covering the interior was a this slab of glass that looked ready to retract at a moment's notice.

If Aaren looked like a fox, Caleb looked like a race car driver.

"Hm. I wonder what this thing is," he said out loud, staring at the circular contraption on his glove.

Aaren immediately turned around, his ears twitching in different directions. He stared at a giant boulder suspiciously, sniffing slightly.

"What's wrong, boy? Smell a rabbit?" joked Caleb.

Aaren growled slightly at him before he ran at the boulder – on all fours – and jumped at whatever was behind it. There was a loud 'Oof!' as Aaren pounced on it...or, more specifically, _him_.

"Aaren, get off of Jasper!" Emma ordered the boy.

Aaren looked down at the giant-handed boy underneath him.

"Oh! Sorry, dude. Thought you were a monster," he said, offering his hands (paws, _whatever_).

It took both of his hands to lift one of Jasper's hands.

"Damn, kid! Those limbs are _humongous_!" he exclaimed.

Jasper smiled.

"They can shrink," he said, his hands turning into red gloves (A/N: Yeah, I forgot to put that in last time! Forgive me! Just deal with this new addition to the story! XD).

"Oh, great. At least, _he_ can make his outfit less retarded. Can I take away my ears and tail? No."

Jasper shrugged before taking in their outfits. Caleb's looked pretty normal but Aaren's outfit was...

"Um, are you some type of otherworldly life form?" Jasper asked.

Aaren placed a hand on his hip, annoyed.

"I'm a freaking FOX, okay? F-O-X! Can we get that through everyone's thick heads?" he asked all of them.

Emma and Caleb held their hands up in silent surrender and acceptation.

"I have a feeling that you're deeply irritated by your choice of clothing," observed Jasper.

"Okay, ONE: This was _so_ not my choice of clothing and TWO: Damn, right, I'm irritated!" he nearly yelled.

"Can you just shut it so we can get to the tower? There _are_ lives at stake," said Emma.

"She's right," said Annie.

Aaren jumped in fright and climbed to the top of a boulder.

"Who was that?" he asked in a frightened tone.

"It's me, idiot. Anita Belpois," said the pinkette.

"Why can't I see you?" asked Aaren, looking around suspiciously.

"Who knew Aaren was so paranoid?" Caleb mumbled.

Emma snickered. Aaren turned his head in their direction.

"I can _hear_ you, y'know," he said in an annoyed tone.

"We know," Caleb said cheerfully.

Aaren stuck his tongue out at them.

"I thought you were a fox, why are you climbing boulders like a cat?" Caleb asked him.

"Don't question it, just embrace it," said Aaren.

"Yeah, try telling _yourself_ that every once in a while," Emma said.

"Back to the matter at hand!" shouted Annie.

Aaren yelled and fell off of the boulder, landing on his four...feet?

"Ouch, damnit! Have you forgotten that my ears can practically hear you from a _mile_ away? No need to yell!" Aaren grumbled.

"Oh, suck it up, Della Robbia. The tower's north. Start moving."

"Aye-aye, Captain Belpois," Aaren told her, walking in a random direction.

He stopped and looked around.

"Where's north?" he asked, completely clueless.

Jasper shook his head and started walking.

"Oh, look! Jazzy-cakes is officially our new tour guide!" Aaren rejoiced.

"Jazzy-cakes? Dude, you're so gay," Caleb said.

"It's not gay if a girl says it but...Aaren, maybe you should just call him Jazz or something," Emma suggested.

Caleb nodded.

"Yes. That way, you'll sound less gay."

"I'm not gay! I'm bisexual!"

Caleb backed away slightly.

"Dude, are you serious?" he asked.

"Do you have a _problem_ with it?" Aaren retorted.

"Well, seeing as you're dating my best friend...I wouldn't exactly be thrilled with you choosing some dude over her," he answered.

"No worries," Aaren said nonchalantly.

Jasper shook his head in exasperation.

"Follow me," he said tiredly.

They all nodded and stopped their bickering, following the redhead. After a few seconds, they started running after Jasper when he picked up the pace. Aaren found it a little hard to run on two legs and started chasing after them on all fours. His ears twitched and he stopped.

"Guys, I hear something," he said.

They all stopped and turned towards him. He looked left, then forward. That's when they noticed that his pupils had been reduced to red slits.

"Um, Aaren?" Emma asked in a cautious tone.

"Monsters. I'm sure of it. Thirty meters north," he breathed out, baring a newly-grown set of fangs.

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

A/N: Cliffie! Yeah, I know. I'm horrible. If anyone sees the resemblance between Aaren's outfit and Naruto, believe me, it was not intentional.

Reviews get you another chapter! REVIEW!


	22. Strength In Numbers

A/N: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

* * *

Chapter 21

Caleb, Jasper and Emma were all noticing how intense Aaren had become. He had inch-long fangs. His claws had become extended and were razor-sharp. His eyes were now red slits and his tail was swinging softly from left to right, a fierce look on his face.

Needless to say, he looked a lot more dangerous than cute to any of them.

"Wow, Aaren. You're power levels are shooting through the roof!" exclaimed Annie. "Before, they were a lot lower than either Caleb or Emma's. Now they're a lot higher!"

Aaren smirked, showing off a fang.

"Good to know. So what are my weapons?" he asked.

Annie stared at the screen in front of her, clicking away.

"Hand area and foot area. Figure it out for yourself," she said with a laugh.

There was a low beeping sound and four red circles appeared on the screen.

"Guys, for monsters, coming your way. Get ready," she warned them.

Caleb smirked.

"Four monsters? That means there's one for each of us," he said.

"Why don't you take a break and sit this one out?" Aaren suggested in a sarcastic tone.

Caleb scoffed.

"I wouldn't want you to die prematurely, Aaren. Even if it isn't real," he told his friend.

Aaren frowned but then his ears twitched again the the direction they were going in. He looked up and they all saw the monsters – two Megatanks and two Krabes – coming their way. They all stood to attention...well, Aaren tensed but didn't rise from his position on the ground. Emma got ready her fan, Jasper's fists grew to their enormous size, Aaren bared his fangs and Caleb fisted his hands.

"Um, Annie?" he asked his sister.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Where the hell are _my_ weapons?" he asked nervously.

She clicked at the keyboard and body-image of Caleb showed up of the screen.

"Hand area."

"Seems like it's that way for _everyone_," he said in a sarcastic voice.

Aaren rolled his eyes. Jasper tensed.

"Guys, watch out for Megatanks. Mostly shield and a heavily-powered laser. The only way to destroy them is hit their 'Eyes' when they open up their shell," he told Caleb and Aaren.

"And watch out for the Krabes. Their limbs are sharp and can probably kill you in one blow. They shoot lasers and you have to kill them by hitting their Eye. Just like the Megatank," Emma added.

Aaren and Caleb nodded in understanding. Caleb looked down at his hands.

"What exactly am I supposed to do with the – Whoa!" he yelled out, avoiding the light blue laser shooting from his hand.

He looked at his hand in awe.

"So _that's_ your weapon!" Aaren said in a cheerful voice.

Caleb raised his eyebrow at Aaren's sudden mood swing but shrugged it off.

"Let's try this out," he suggested, raising his hand towards one of the approaching.

He concentrated hard and a long, blue laser beam fired out of his palm and hit the first Krabe. It hit the Eye on its back and it exploded. Aaren jumped up in excitement.

"Boo-yah!" he yelled out.

Emma laughed.

"At this rate, we can kill all the monsters in no time at all," she said.

Annie looked at the screen and saw something interesting.

"Actually, not really. Caleb. You're limited to only ten shots. I can probably bring it up later but for now, that's your limit," Annie informed him.

Caleb scowled.

"Way to kill my buzz, little sister," he grumbled.

"You're welcome, big brother," Annie replied sweetly.

"Okay, my turn!" Aaren announced.

The Krabe and Megatank were already closing in and were about ten yards away from them.

"What are you going to d-" Emma was cut short when Aaren suddenly disappeared.

They all looked around in shock, searching for their missing comrade.

"Where'd he go?"

Back At Kadic...

Jace watched as Kevin's eyes flickered between XANA's Eye and his normal pupils.

"Kevin?" she whispered.

His eyes – not XANA's, _his_ eyes – focused on hers for a moment before he let out a loud roar of pain - back arching, eyes shut – as blackish-gray smoke exited his mouth and nostrils, floating upwards and thinning. Jace's eyes followed the disappearing trail of smoke until it disappeared. When it was gone, her eyes drifted to Kevin. He stared at her tiredly for a second before collapsing to the floor. She instantly stood and ran to his side.

"Kevin? Are you alright?" she asked, shaking him.

His breathing was steady but he wasn't moving. She shook him again, harder.

"Kevin. Kevin! Come on, wake up! Wake up!" she shouted.

No response. Jace sniffed helplessly. She looked between him and everyone else. No one was awake and the police sirens were still blaring outside and Jace wasn't about to explain all of this to them.

_Let them wait_, she though sadly, looking back at the boy she loved.

"Kevin, please," she said quietly.

He still didn't respond. Finally, Jace snapped.

"WAKE UP, ASSHOLE!" she shrieked, slapping him across the face.

Kevin's eyes shot open and he sat up straight, like someone who had just been brought back to life.

"For the last time, XANA! I'm in lo-" he cut himself off when he realized that he was alive and talking with _his_ mouth, speaking with _his_ tongue.

He looked around in wonder until his eyes came into contact with a pair of soft brown eyes.

"Ja-Agh!" he grunted when she wrapped her arms around his body, crying slightly.

Kevin stared down at the petite girl crying tears into his chest.

"I though you were gonna – I mean, you were all – You could've been – _I_ could've been – WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" she demanded.

Kevin blanched at her sudden mood swing. First, she was crying. Now, she was angry with him.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked, confused.

"Why didn't you say anything?" she asked, shouting.

Kevin frowned at her question. If only she knew what he had to go through to gain control back of his body.

"Excuse me! I was possessed by a certain virus going by the name of XANA! So _sorry_, if I couldn't do anything to save my skin! God!" he yelled back.

"Oh my God, I _hate_ you! You're such an asshole!" she screamed.

"Well, you're a bitch when it comes to these situations! Jeez, we can't even hold a conversation without you flipping out! I just got my body back and already, you're yelling at me! It's ridiculous!" he told her.

That's when she did something he thought she'd never do. She _punched_ him. Square on the face.

"Ow! What the hell was that?" he shouted, holding his nose.

"You called me a bitch," she stated simply.

Kevin groaned in pain. She punched pretty hard for a girl!

"Well, you called me an asshole. Did _I_ punch _you_?" he asked incredulously.

She smirked.

"No, because that's not how you 'roll'," she said.

Kevin gripped his nose in pain. It was bleeding or anything but it definitely hurt. He sighed.

"Ow," he said with a laugh.

Jace laughed,too.

"You punch hard," he said.

She grinned.

"You bet."

He looked up at Jace, smiling at how ridiculous they were.

"Friends?" he requested, holding out his hand.

Jace stared at it for a moment before smiling and grabbing his hand.

"Friends."

* * *

A/N: That's not quite how I expected to end this chapter. I know this will piss off any Kevin/Jace fans but I'M THE AUTHOR! No, this is not the end!

Review and I will continue! Still gotta know what happens to Aaren! Review!


	23. Lyoko Combat

A/N: Sorry that I didn't update a little earlier. I had to go to my grandma's house yesterday to take care of her. Yes, I'm 14 and playing doctor for my million-year-old, diabetes-stricken, swollen-foot grandmother who can't eat meat cuz her teeth are weak.

However, I _have_ emerged enlightened. I've learned some valuable lessons like:

1. Old people like fruity drinks and banana pie.

2. Never bring a laptop to a place full of children because, chances are, you won't be able to use your laptop till night time.

3. Don't think an old lady won't punch you when you make fun of her.

4. Dialga is a badass pokemon.

5. Whatever you do...DO NOT BREAK THE WINDOW PANE IN YOUR GRANDMOTHER'S LIVING ROOM!

...

Chapter 22

Emma, Caleb and Jasper were currently looking around for their friend.

"Was he de-virtualized or something?" Emma asked Annie.

The pinkette stared at the screen.

"Uh, no. He's still in Lyoko. In fact, he's standing a few yards in front of you," she told them.  
"But I don't see h-"

"There he is," Jasper said, pointing at the monsters; specifically, the Krabe.

Aaren was currently balancing himself on top of the enormous orange-red monster. He looked crazy because his eyes were wide open and he was mumbling to himself.

"How did he get there?" asked Emma.

"Yo, Aaren! What are you do up there, bro?" he called out.

"I'm surfing on a Krabe! What do _think _I'm doing?" Aaren yelled back.

"Jeez. Touchy," Caleb complained.

"I think he's what most people in your world would call 'freaking out'," said Jasper.

Emma giggled.

"He looks like he's going to have a heart attack!" she exclaimed.

"I wonder how he got up there in the first place," commented Caleb.

"It looks like he teleported there,"said Annie.

"What?" they all asked in unison.

"Teleport. To disappear from one place and then reappear somewhere else," she told them.

"Well, that's not helping the situation!" said Aaren; his balance on top of the Krabe was waning and he was about to fall off.

"Ah!"

He fell forward and did the first thing that came to his mind. He unsheathed his claws and dug them into the top of the Krabe's head. Right where XANA's Eye was. Needless to say, he lost his balancing because the Krabe kept moving around. He fell off right before the monster exploded.

Of course, that landed him right in front of the Megatanks.

"Little help here!" Aaren yelled.

Caleb shot a laser at one of the Megatanks. It didn't kill it, but the force of the laser made it fly away from his friend and roll all the way off the cliff and into the digital sea, exploding.

Aaren raised his arms in triumph.

"Whoo! Three down!" he shouted.

"Aaren, watch out!" shouted Emma.

Said boy turned around and managed to jump left, right before the Megatank launched it's giant vertical laser in his direction. He tucked in his shoulder and used it to absorb the impact as he rolled away from the deadly monster.

"Nice dodge, Aaren. Guys you need to hurry up. My guess is that all the fighting is over but we still need to deactivate that tower. There are still people who still possessed. Get to the tower but you need to deactivate it _exactly_ when I say and all monsters have to be eliminated. It's gonna take a little more power for me to do a Return to the Past all the way to Friday. Get your butts there while I boost the power of the super computer. It should take me a few minutes," said Annie.

"Got it," they all said in unison.

They all prepared as the Megatank rolled away from Aaren and faced them. It opened it's shell and shot it's giant laser at them. They all dodged out of the way and charged at it. Caleb raised a hand and shot two lasers at it. Both of them missed.

"Damn it!" he cursed.

"Six lasers left," Annie warned him.

"Yeah, I know."

The Megatank prepared to fire again. Emma unfolded her fan and threw it directly at the Megatank at the same time it fired. Her fan was blown away and the laser managed to shoot in her direction, hitting and de-virtualizing her.

Emma cursed as she walked out of the scanner, head hanging in frustration.

"Damn!"

Caleb ran at the Megatank and launched another laser at it's Eye. He missed again.

"Holy crap! What's wrong with my shots?" he asked, frustrated.

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe you just suck at aiming?" Aaren asked with a smirk.

"Oh, shut up, mutt," Caleb retorted, referring to his fox-like outfit.

The Megatank rushed at Aaren and he tried to dodge it but it ran over him, de-virtualizing him this time.

"No!" shouted Caleb and Jasper in unison.

"Guys, get to the tower!" ordered Annie. "The super computer's almost done charging up!"

Caleb growled in frustration. He looked at Jasper.

"You run for the tower while I distract and, hopefully, destroy the Megatank," he told the redhead.

Jasper nodded.

"On the count of three," said Caleb.

Jasper steeled himself for the run.

"One...two...three!" the blonde shouted.

Caleb ran at the Megatank and Jasper sprinted towards the tower. Caleb shot two lasers at the Megatank. It dodged one and got hit by the other, but not in the Eye. It rolled away a bit but regained its balance and charged towards Caleb. He shot another laser at it, missing once more.

"Caleb, you've got _three_ shots left. Aim carefully," warned Annie.

The blonde sighed and narrowed his eyes at the Megatank. Jasper was already at the tower and walked right through it.

"Annie, I'm in," he said.

The pinkette clicked away at the keyboard and stared at the screen. Both Emma and Aaren walked up to her side.

"How long until the Return to the Past?" asked the brunette.

Annie looked up at her friend.

"In a minute."

Aaren pulled out his phone and dialed a few numbers.

"I'm going to check up on Jace to see if she's okay," said the blonde boy.

He put the phone to his ear and waited as it rang. It rang three times before someone picked up.

"_Hello_?" came a female's voice that Aaren instantly recognized.

He also heard sirens in the background.

"Jace. Are you alright? How's Mina? How's Kevin?" he asked.

He heard Jace sigh.

"_Aaren. We're with the cops. Mina's knocked out and going with a bunch of other people to the infirmary to be check on. Apparently, Kevin, Orlando, Ian, Russell, Matthew and Jack are being arrested for assault on a massive scale, engaging a hostage situation and destruction of school property. They can't really explain the situation but the police know that the boys are the culprits. Please tell me you guys are fixing this_," she begged.

Aaren looked at Annie on the super computer.

"Annie's on it. What happened to Kevin?" he asked his sister.

"_He's back to normal. I don't know how he did it but he managed to force XANA out of his body._"

"Are you _serious_?" Aaren asked incredulously.

"_Yeah_. _Look, I gotta go. Hurry up with that Return to the Past. Bye_," she said.

"Bye," he said, closing the phone.

"Annie. Hurry your ass up. Kevin and the others are being _arrested_," he informed the two girls.

"Yeah. I almost got it. Wait ten seconds. Caleb, hurry up with that Megatank!" she ordered.

The fair-haired boy scowled as he took aim.

"This is not exactly the easiest thing in the world, y'know," he told her.

He let out one more laser, finally hitting the Megatank in the right spot. It exploded on impact.

"You're clear. Go."

"Okay, Jasper. De-activate the tower," ordered Annie.

Jasper did as he was told and walked to the middle of the tower. He was lifted into the air and brought onto the second platform. He placed his hand on the small screen.

JASPER, it showed.

CODE, it asked.

He typed in 'L-Y-O-K-O'.

All the little windows on the walls fell downwards.

"Tower deactivated."

Annie pressed a few keys before pressing ENTER.

"Return to the Past now."

...

A/N: Leave a review if you want to see the next chapter up!


	24. BreakUps and Flashbacks

A/N: I decided to update today. You can thank innocentchick101 a.k.a Lani for that!

The main goal of this chapter is to clarify the clothing of the characters in this story. There _is_ a lot of stuff going on but that's mainly what I wanted to do. I have a legitimate excuse, I'll just tell you guys later.

* * *

Chapter 23

Back to Friday...

Aaren walked up to his friends. He noticed that neither Jace, Caleb nor Kevin was there.

"Where are they?" he asked Emma, adjusting the collar of his purple polo and the wrist of his yellow undershirt before giving Mina a short hug.

"Kevin went to talk to Stephanie. Caleb went to call his girlfriend in America. Jace said she wanted to try out a new look or something. She's taking a little longer than usual to get ready. She should be here by now," said the brunette.

As if on Que, the black and purple haired girl came bounding down the hallway. They all looked up at her.

"Ooh...So _that's_ what you were doing," said Mina.

Jace looked up at her.

"What?" she asked.

The navy-haired female pointed at her friend's hair.

"You put your hair into pigtails. Cute," she commented.

Jace raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, thanks. You, too," she said uncertainly.

Mina smiled and ran a hand through her straight blue hair but Emma looked confused.

"Why did you let one side of your bangs down and kept the other side pinned up with those hair clips when your hair is divided into two long ponytails?" she asked.

"Why do you cut your hair short every three months and keep one side of your hair behind your ear all the time?" Jace retorted.

Emma smirked.

"Because I like it that way," she said matter-of-factly.

"Then you have your answer," Jace said.

Emma rolled her eyes. Annie looked at Jace with a strange look on her face.

"Did your hair get longer?" she asked.

Jace looked at her hair and shrugged.

"Maybe."

"Hey, guys!" called out a certain blonde boy.

All four of them looked up to see Caleb running up towards them. He was wearing a blue jacket and long, brown pants and white shoes. He was carrying a binder under his arm.

"Hey, Caleb. How's Kate doing?" asked Aaren.

"Not good. I think she wants to break up with me," he told his friend.

All of their eyebrows raised.

"Well, you don't exactly seem sad about it," commented Mina.

Caleb shrugged.

"I've kind of been expecting it. She always seemed like the type of girl who wants her boyfriend around 24/7," he said.

"In other words, clingy and a total sociopath," Jace guessed.

"Probably. Well, I'll find out tomorrow," he said with a shrug.

Mina patted his back.

"Good luck with that," she said.

"Um, yeah. Anyways, where's Kevin?" asked Caleb.

"Talking to Stephanie," Emma said.

The boy blinked.

"Shouldn't someone go and check up on him?" he questioned.

They all shrugged.

"Maybe," said Aaren.

Caleb sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Um, Jace. I'm betting this is your area of expertise?" he asked.

Jace smirked.

"You'd lose that bet," she told him.

Caleb laughed.

"Just go check up on the boy. See if he's been XANA-fied or anything."

Jace sighed but nodded and ran in the direction she figured Kevin would be in.

...

"Kevin? Ugh, seriously, the school isn't _that_ big! Where could that boy be?" asked an exasperated Jace.

Classes started in twenty minutes. If she didn't find him soon, she was going to kick Caleb's ass and force him to hunt done that son of a bi-

"It's because of that Jace girl, isn't it?" came a familiar female voice.

_Me?_ thought Jace, peeking over the corner of the hallway in front of her. She saw a familiar sight.

"Look, Stephanie, it has nothing to do with her. I just don't see us going anywhere," Kevin explained in an exasperated voice.

"You can't do this to me! Again!" Stephanie shouted at him.

Kevin looked down at his feet.

"Listen, I thought that if we got beck together, I'd feel that feeling of love again. I thought we could be together again. But...you've _changed_, Steph. And now, we've got nothing keeping us together. We've got nothing in common anymore," he said sadly.

Stephanie closed her eyes and cried. For a moment, Jace actually felt sorry for Stephanie.

"This is all Jace's fault. The bitch has you wrapped around her little finger."

Moment over. Jace felt her eye twitch slightly. She was close to kicking Stephanie's ass...again. Apparently, Kevin had a similar feeling.

"Don't talk about her like that," he said in a low voice, threatening.

"Or what? You've already broken my heart. Twice. The first was because you decided that you didn't like me anymore. The second because you've fallen head over heels for that whore," she said, angry and crying.

Kevin's eyes flashed and Jace watched as he growled at her and punched the wall behind Stephanie's head. The blonde jumped in fright and she shook in fear. She hadn't made Kevin mad, she had _pissed him off_. And you never make a Stern _that_ pissed off unless you had a _death wish_.

Jace stared at him before stepping out from behind the corner.

"Kevin?" she asked cautiously, testing the atmosphere.

He looked up at her and pulled his hand away from the wall and slipped it in one of the pockets in his jeans. Stephanie took one fearful look at him before running off in the direction of the next class. That left Kevin and Jace all alone in the hallway. Kevin stared at the wall he had just punched. There was a smudge where he had hit it.

Jace looked Kevin up and down, wondering when would be a good time to speak.

"How long have-"

"Are you al-"

Both teenagers stopped in mid-sentence. Kevin decided that the ground looked very interesting all of a sudden. Jace shook her head and smiled.

"You first," she offered.

Kevin shook his head.

"Ladies first," he said, motioning for her to speak.

Jace chuckled and nodded.

"Are you alright, Kevin?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He paused. "How long have you been standing there?"

"A while," she said with a grin.

The boy ran a hand through his hair.

"How much did you hear?" he tried again.

"A lot," she said.

Kevin looked up and walked up to her.

"Come on, Jace. What did you hear? How much did you see?" he questioned.

"I heard you and Stephanie arguing – she isn't very nice, by the way – and then I saw you punch the wall. That's it," she said.

Kevin stared at her for a while before accepting her confession.

"Yeah. We broke up," he told her.

"Apparently," she said.

Kevin nodded. Jace looked at him for a while before placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her gentle expression.

"You going to be alright?" she asked.

He smirked.

"I'm a Stern, Jace. It'll take a lot more than that to break me," he answered.

"Yeah, right. Last year, you were a sobbing little child throwing temper tantrums, Kev," she joked.

He laughed.

"Hey, I've grown up and matured. I'm a lot stronger now," he said.

Jace smiled.

"I know."

Kevin looked down the hallway for a second before taking Jace by the wrist and walking towards the classrooms.

"I'll walk you to class," he said nonchalantly.

Jace chuckled.

"You're weird."

"So are you," he replied.

She giggled.

"Just like sixth grade?" he asked with a smirk.

Jace smiled at the memory.

"Just like sixth grade."

_Flashback_

"_Hi, I'm Jace," said the little sixth-grader with purple highlights._

_The dark-haired boy of thirteen years looked up._

"_Kevin Stern," he replied stoically._

"_Wow. Aaren was right. You _are_ a total ice cube," she commented._

_Kevin raised an eyebrow._

"_You know that idiot?" he asked._

"_He's my brother!" she replied cheerfully._

_He snorted._

"_I see the resemblance."_

"_Are you saying I look like a boy?" she said in an offended tone._

_Kevin sighed._

"_You're both short and annoying," he said._

_Jace placed a hand on her hip, the other was holding her schedule._

"_Well, _you_ are tall and rude," she retorted._

_Kevin blanched. No one had ever spoken up against him. Everyone had always been afraid to get their asses kicked – even though, technically, he had never punched someone in all his years here at Kadic. His reputation from his old school, however, had made him someone not to be messed with. Now, this little girl with abnormally-colored hair was back-talking him. _

_His ego took a swift blow._

"_Whatever."_

_Jace frowned and looked at her schedule. She concentrated for a while before looking up._

"_Um...Mr. Kevin Stern?" she asked._

"_What?"_

"_Where's C203?" she asked in a confused tone._

_Kevin paused before he chuckled. Jace huffed._

"_What's so funny?"_

_The seventh-grader shook his head. He grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the classrooms._

"_I'll walk you to class," he said, not caring about the kids who were currently staring at him._

_Jace looked confused but just nodded and let him drag her._

"_You're weird."_

"_So are you."_

_And that was the start of a long and prosperous friendship._

_End Flashback_

* * *

A/N: Just wanted to show you guys how they met. It just came out of the top of my head so if it seems random, it is! This is pretty long for me. Tell me if you liked it!

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Please! Please! Please!


	25. Club Six 7 Oh!

A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I love them! I love each and every one of you ten times more! Read on!

-BO-R-D-E-R-

Chapter 24

The rest of the day went by smoothly, Aaren, Jace and Kevin had all gotten spots on the soccer team. Unsurprisingly. Aaren was goalie, Kevin was a Chaser and Jace was a guard.

"Whoo! Let's go celebrate!" cheered Aaren.

Mina, Annie, Emma and Caleb had decided to tag along and were currently walking beside them.

"I'm gonna go train my ass off," Kevin replied quickly, walking towards the Gym.

Both Aaren and Caleb stopped him.

"Uh-uh! You are going to enjoy yourself tonight!" said Aaren.

Caleb nodded in agreement.

"You're already a great fighter, bro. You don't _need_ to train," he told his friend.

Kevin scowled, pushing them off of him.

"No, I'm going to the Gym," he replied.

Aaren jumped in front of Kevin, caused him to jerk backwards.

"Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!"

Ten Minutes Later...

"Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!"

"AAREN, SHUT THE HELL UP!" shouted three outraged teenagers – the outraged teenagers being: Kevin, Jace and Emma.

Caleb, Mina and Annie all laughed. Aaren just pouted.

"Pl-"

"Alright! Jesus Christ!"Kevin shouted, at his wits end.

"Yay!" cheered Aaren, throwing his arms in the air.

Kevin shot a death glare at him. Everyone else rolled their eyes at the two best friend's little fight.

"So where are we going?" asked Jace.

Aaren thought to himself for a while before brightening.

"Let's go to the new American teen club a few blocks away from Kadic. Um, 'Club Six-7-Oh'." he said. (A/N: To my besties, you know I be repping the islands!)

All of them either shrugged or nodded. Kevin just sulked, arms crossed in front of his chest.

"But how do we get there?" asked Caleb.

"Walk?" Mina suggested.

"Have you ever heard of a taxi?" Aaren asked sarcastically.

Mina punched his arm. He pouted cutely and everyone laughed.

"Okay, to Club Six-7-Oh, we go!" Aaren said in a voyager's voice.

Emma looked at her watch. 5:26 pm.

"Okay, but we gotta be back here at Kadic by 11:30. Curfew," she reminded them.

"Yeah, yeah. We got it, killjoy," said Aaren.

Emma bonked him upside the head.

"Ow!"

"Ugh! Let's just go already," said Annie.

At the club...

All seven teenagers stood in front of the enormous club with a giant red neon side atop the entrance that said 'CLUB SIX-7-OH!'. They had to take two cabs because all of seven of them couldn't fit into one vehicle. Aaren had ridden with Annie, Caleb and Mina. Lucky for him because, other wise, Kevin would have murdered him already.

"I still can't believe I'm being dragged to this stupid place," he muttered.

Jace rolled her eyes.

"Oh, suck it up, Kev. Have fun!" she said, clapping him on the back.

Kevin sighed and walked towards the entrance of the club. Aaren and the others were waiting there. Jace and Emma ran to catch up with him.

"So...how do we do this?" asked Mina.

"Well, obviously, you pay the bouncer," he said, pulling out a giant wad of cash from his pocket.

"Whoa. Dude, you're loaded," commented Caleb.

"My dad's rich, bro. You should know that by now. How much for seven?" Aaren asked the bouncer.

"30 Euros entrance fee for each person," the man answered, his voice was incredibly deep (A/N: Thanks, Tsunamix for correcting me on the currency!).

"So that's...that's..." Aaren trailed off.

"210 Euros, idiot," Jace told her brother, shaking her head at his stupidity.

"I knew that!" he answered, counting out the amount he needed.

"Here, you go, my good man," he said, handing over the money.

The bouncer took the money and handed him seven tickets.

"No fights. No vandalism. No harassment. No trouble," he warned Aaren, looking him in the eye.

Aaren shook slightly in fear before nodding then running into the club. The other six quickly followed. Their eyes all widened when they walked into the enormous building. There were people dancing to a live band. There was no bar, just a long table with lots of food and a GIANT bowl of punch. The amount of bodies was enormous and they all looked like a school of anchovies, all dancing to the same beat.

"Whoo! Come on, Mina! I'll show you the Melbourne Shuffle!" Aaren laughed out, dragging his girlfriend behind him.

Jace rolled her eyes and followed the rest of her friends to the food table. Kevin poured himself a cup of punch and downed it it less than three seconds. Jace smirked.

"What? Are you trying to get your self hyped up on punch?" she asked him.

Kevin shrugged and poured himself another cup.

"I didn't wanna come here in the first place. If I wanna drown myself in high-sucrose liquids, that's my choice," he answered.

Jace rolled her eyes. That's when a certain someone decided to make a surprise appearance.

"Hey, guys! Didn't think I'd see you here!"

All five looked looked up to see Jacob and two of his friends walking up to them. Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Jacob grinned.

"I come here every Friday. What brings you here?" he asked them.

"Celebration," Annie answered, motioning towards Aaren.

Jacob took one look and he and his friends doubled over laughing.

"He's, uh, a very enthusiastic dancer," he said.

His friends snickered and he waved his hand, telling them to shut up.

"Hey, Emma. Uh, can I speak to you? In private?" he asked, motioning with his eyes towards the corner.

Emma blushed slightly before nodding.

"Uh, yeah. Sure, Jacob," she answered.

He smiled and took her hand, walking with her across the room. Kevin, Jace, Annie and Caleb faced the friends Jacob had left behind. One had short red hair, Ben Tsiolkovsky, and the other, a girl with blonde hair, Leah Wilmington. There was an awkward silence between the two groups.

"Hey, Leah, wanna dance?" asked Caleb.

She raised an eyebrow before shrugging her shoulders.

"Whatever," she answered.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," he muttered before walking into the mass of people with the girl.

Ben sighed before running off to God-knows-where, probably trying to find a partner. That left Annie, Jace and Kevin. After a while, a boy with slick black hair walked up to Jace. He was tall but not as tall as Kevin. He was cute, too.

"Hi, my name is Wilson Mesa. Would you like to dance?" he asked her.

Jace raised an eyebrow but before she could reply, Kevin growled out the following words.

"Turn around and walk away before I kill you. Slowly and painfully."

Wilson blinked once before taking off into the dance floor.

"Kevin! That was _so_ not cool!" Jace yelled at him.

He just stared at her before shrugging.

"Were you really going to say 'yes' to that loser?" he asked seriously.

Jace opened her mouth before closing it and huffing, crossing her arms.

"You're an ass," she told him.

"So are you," he retorted.

"That was unnecessary!" she told him, raising her voice slightly.

"It was _prudent_."

"How so?" she asked, angry.

"He could have taken you away and raped you!" he said.

"You're so stupid! I'd never have stepped foot outside this club with him!"

"You'd do the same thing," Kevin said, sulking.

"I don't threaten to kill girls who ask you out!" Jace exclaimed.

"In your mind, you do," Kevin said in a smug voice.

"Fuck you!" she yelled.

"Fuck you, too."

Jace gasped.

"How dare you?"

"How dare _you_?" he replied.

"Um, excuse me. Would you like to d-" started a tall blonde girl.

"Turn the fuck around and walk away. I'm yelling at this bastard!" Jace yelled at her.

Her eyes widened before running off, just like that Wilson guy. Jace turned back to Kevin. He was smirking.

"Shut the hell up," she grumbled.

"I wasn't saying anything."

"How long do you want to live?" she asked in a threatening tone.

He shut his mouth. Annie stared at her two friends before shaking her head.

"Idiots," she muttered.

-B-O-R-D-E-R-

A/N: Done! Finito! Review and tell me what you think! This seemed pretty good.

Next chapter: A Drunken Kevin

REVIEW IF YOU WANNA SEE IT!


	26. A Drunken Kevin

A/N: Please enjoy the following chapter...and no, the author was _not _drunk off her ass when she was writing this part of the story...she may have been high, though...

Here's my interpretation of a drunk Kevin. Hope I don't disappoint!

...

Chapter 25

Kevin, Jace and Annie were hanging by the food table. Aaren and Mina were dancing on the dance floor. Well, _Mina_ was dancing. Jace had absolutely no freaking idea what Aaren was doing. It was something between the Macarena and the Jerk. Go figure. Emma had wandered off with Jacob and Caleb had disappeared into the enormous mass of teen dancers.

"So, how long will it take to materialize Jasper?" Jace decided to ask Annie.

"Quite some time. It could be anytime ranging from a few weeks to several months. This whole materialization program thing is testing the extent of my abilities It's making me pretty nervous," Annie said with a sigh.

Jace nodded in understanding and turned to Kevin. He looked ready to blow a gasket. He looked pissed, bored and annoyed, all at the same time. Not a very good combination. She touched his arm and he jumped. He looked down at her with a confused expression, silently asking. 'What?' with his eyes.

"Are you alright? You know, if you wanna leave, no one will blame you. I'll get you a cab," she offered.

Kevin scoffed.

"And leave my baby sister in the hands of that jerk? Not a chance. Besides, the punch is pretty good," he answered, downing yet another cup.

Jace stared at him as he poured another cup.

"How many of those have you had?" she asked worriedly.

Kevin shrugged.

"Four...maybe, five," he told her, sipping more punch.

Jace stared at the drink in Kevin's hand before taking it from it.

"Hey!" he protested.

Jace ignored him. She lifted the drink to her nose and took a whiff. Her nose crinkled in disgust and she handed it back to him quickly.

"It's spiked, Kev. You shouldn't be drinking so much," she warned him.

Kevin smirked.

"It's gonna take a lot more than six cups of spiked punch to get me drunk, Jace" he told her.

Nine or ten cups later...

Jace couldn't believe it. She _had_ warned him. After _sixteen_ cups of punch – in the middle of the dance floor – Kevin was _break dancing_. The last chorus of 'All I Do Is Win' was blaring out of the lead singer's mouth and what was Kevin's reaction? He was doing windmills and elbow flairs all over the floor!

Who knew?

When the song came to an end, Kevin got to his feet drunkenly as the entire crowd cheered. He smiled and did a back flip just for their entertainment before heading in the direction of the food table. He stopped right in front of Jace.

"So? How was I?" he asked her with a drunken grin.

"Great. I'm surprised you didn't fall off of your ass after the first verse. You're so funny when you're drunk," she said with a laugh.

"And I got it all on camera!" Aaren cheered, running towards them with a video camera in his hand.

Mina was right behind him, laughing.

"What?" asked Kevin.

"You heard me. Your whole performance. On camera. This is _so_ going on Youtube!" Aaren said, laughing.

"What's that?" Kevin asked confusedly.

He was starting to have to lean on Jace for support. Yeah. A five-foot-seven 15-year-old leaning on a five-foot-one 8th grade girl. How clever. Jace stumbled under the weight.

"Are you serious?" asked Aaren.

Kevin nodded with a silly smile on his face.

"It's a website where you upload videos for the world to see," replied the blonde, 'duh' written all over his face.

"Oh! You mean, like the one you uploaded of Jacob falling flat on his ass during soccer practice?" Kevin asked thoughtfully.

"THAT WAS YOU?" came an outraged yell from behind Aaren.

The blonde turned around and came face-to-face with his soccer captain. He laughed nervously.

"How you doing, gov'ner?" he asked in a British accent.

Jacob huffed angrily.

"Run, dude," Kevin said, giggling drunkenly.

Aaren whimpered before taking off, Jacob hot on his heels. Kevin laughed and turned to Jace.

"Are Jacob and Aaren playing tag?" he asked in a childlike voice.

Jace laughed.

"Well, you could say that. If all tag games ended with one battered and bruised," she told him.

Kevin grinned before stumbling a little, his legs almost giving out.

"I wanna go home," he muttered tiredly, his eyelids drooping.

Jace looked at her watch. 10:52 pm.

"Okay. Let's go get Aaren then we leave. We should be back by 11:20 or something like that," she told Emma and Annie.

"Mina, can you go find Caleb?" she asked the navy-haired teen.

"On it."

"Ready? BREAK!" Kevin said in a loud voice, clapping his hands.

A few people turned their heads, giving him weird looks. The little girl with purple highlights turned to the boy leaning on her side.

"Kevin?" Jace asked sweetly.

"Yes, Jacey-Macey?"

"Please, shut up."

Back to Kadic...

Jace, Kevin, Emma and Annie piled out of the cab and onto school grounds. Mina, Aaren and Caleb were waiting there (A/N: They all live on campus.). Jace looked down at her watch. 11:26 pm. That was cutting it close. She walked up to her friends, dragging Kevin over her shoulder.

"I'll bring Aaren and Kevin to their dorm room. It's late and I don't want you guys to get caught," she said.

"What if Pete catches you?" asked Mina.

"I'll just tell him that we're going to check on my grandpa. He won't bother me at all," she told her friend.

"Okay. Just call if you need help," Emma said.

Jace nodded.

"I'm okay. If I can handle Lizzy for an entire summer, I can handle these two," she told them.

They nodded, laughing.

"Okay, go. See you in the morning."

They all took off and Jace helped Aaren and Kevin towards their dorm room. Aaren had taken quite a beating from Jacob. He was limping slightly but they were pretty sure it would go away in there morning. It wasn't too bad. Kevin, of course, was drunk ass hell. Seriously, you _had_ to be drunk if you were commenting on how white the walls were or how sparkly the stars were shining. Finally, they got there.

Jace told Kevin to stand in the hallway while she helped Aaren into bed. She helped lay him down and threw a blanket over him. Then she went to bring in Kevin.

He was sitting against the wall, staring at the ceiling.

"Kev, time to go to bed," she said, pulling on his arm.

He looked up at her before standing.

"Jace, do you like me?" he asked suddenly.

"What?" she asked dumbly.

"Do you like me?" he repeated.

"Of course, you're my best friend," she said, as if her answer should be obvious.

He shook his head.

"No. I mean, do you like _like_ me?" he asked.

Jace blushed.

"What brought this up?" she asked quietly.

"Nothing. I'm just asking. I really like you Jace...I just wanted you to know," he said softly.

Jace looked down at the floor. She shook her head. He was drunk. He was delusional. He had no idea what he was saying. Kevin stared at her before lifted up her face by placing a hand under her chin.

"I mean it," he said, leaning in.

Jace stood stock still as he got closer. Their eyes closed, their breathing slowed and, finally, Kevin felt his lips touch hers.

…

Kevin woke up with a start, eyes wide open, his breathing heavy. He found himself in his bed, He had thrown off the blankets in his wake. He suddenly realized something. There was pain in his brain.

"Ow."

He rubbed his aching head.

"What the hell?" he muttered, looking at the clock on his bedpost.

2:13 am. He shook his head. It still hurt. He rubbed his eyes before looking around. Aaren was snoring from his position on his bed, music was coming from the iPod on the desk. It was still dark.

Kevin sighed, thinking back.

_It couldn't have been real_, he thought sad, realizing that his brain wasn't the only thing aching.

His heart yearned for the little girl who had captured it. Ugh! He wanted that dream to be real so bad! Kevin looked at Aaren's little iPod that was attached to a pair of speakers. The words coming out of it seemed to fit exactly how he felt at that moment.

...

_I was thinking 'bout her, thinking 'bout me_

_Think 'bout us, who we gon' be_

_Opened my eyes_

_It was only just a dream_

...

A/N: Oh, dramatic! Yes, Lani, I love pissing you off!

Was it real? Or was it only just a dream?

Review to find out the truth!

**I will destroy you, Freshy of the Firestone Ice City! Right after I destroy George of the Village Hidden Behind the Invisible Wall, the Green-Skinned Cece of the almighty Water Pony Village and Jake of the Giant Chihuahua descendants of the Intensely Terrifying Red-Haired Kittens!**

Random? Yes.

REVIEW!


	27. Live, Laugh, Love

A/N: I just noticed now that I got Jace's height wrong in the previous chapter. I put down 5'1" when she's actually 5'2". Sorry! XD I'm not gonna change but I'm just gonna remind everyone that she's 5'2". _Mina's_ 5'1". I got Kevin's height right, though. XD

...

Chapter 26

Kevin and Aaren were just getting out of bed when Caleb, Jace and Mina walked in through the door.

"Ugh! Have you guys ever heard of knocking?" Kevin grumbled.

He hadn't even gotten his shirt on. The only thing he had on was a pair of pants. His hair was still wet from his shower.

"I was wondering why I lost miserably to you," Mina commented.

"What?" asked Kevin.

"You're ripped, dude," she said, as if she was stating an obvious fact.

Kevin looked down at his body and shrugged.

"Whatever," he muttered.

"Way to take a hit to my self-esteem, Mina," grumbled Aaren.

"Oh, don't worry, Aaren. You're just my type," she said, sitting next to him on his bed.

He smiled and put his yellow long-sleeve on before putting his orange t-shirt on. Kevin pulled on a green undershirt, followed by his Linkin Park t-shirt.

"You need to get rid of that shirt. Every one knows Green Day's the best," said Caleb, grinning.

"Go to hell," was Kevin's clever response.

"I always liked 30 Seconds to Mars," said Mina.

"Me, too," said Aaren. "How about you, Jace?"

The teen girl looked up suddenly.

"Huh?" she asked.

Aaren and Mina laughed.

"What's the best band of all time?" Mina asked.

"Daughtry," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Wrong," Kevin told her.

She stuck her tongue out at him. They all laughed.

"Let's go. The competition will start in a few hours. We should go get something to eat," she suggested.

"I'm all for that motion!" he said, shooting out the door.

"He's fast," commented Mina, walking out the door.

"Yup," said Caleb, following her.

That left Jace and Kevin alone. The silence was awkward.

"You coming?" she asked, motioning towards the hallway.

Kevin was silent.

"What happened last night, Jace?" he asked.

Said girl laughed.

"You got drunk and started break dancing. Go check it on Youtube. 'Drunk boy turned B-Boy'. That's what Aaren called it last night. I check it this morning. 154,000 views so far," she told him.

Kevin shook his head.

"Damn. He really _did_ upload the video," he grumbled.

"Nope," she said.

Kevin looked at her, confused. She grinned.

"I uploaded the video," she told him.

Kevin glared at her before grinning. It was a scaring grin.

"You're so dead. Come here!" he yelled.

Jace screamed before running away. She did everything to get away from him. She threw chairs at him and pillows. She managed to evade his grasp. Kevin gritted his teeth. She was just as fast as her brother.

Finally, he decided to put it all in and jumped forward, grabbing her around the waist. They landed on his bed, bouncing once then falling onto the floor with a loud 'Oomph' from both teens. Kevin opened his eyes to see Jace lying under him.

He smirked.

"Gotcha."

Jace laughed. Kevin chuckled and stared at her. Let's just say they were _this_ close...

"Yo, are you guys co-Whoa..." Caleb trailed off, staring at the two teens.

It was a very interesting position. Kevin was on top of Jace, arms around her waist. Both heads snapped up at the doorway. Caleb stared back before sighing.

"Aaren! Kevin's raping your sister...again!" he added.

Kevin frowned.

"What do you mean, 'again'?I have never laid a hand on-"

Caleb scoffed.

"Uh, _yes_ you have. Don't you remem-"

"Caleb, shut the hell up!" snapped Jace.

Kevin looked down at her, confusedly, before getting to his feet, helping her along the way. That's when Aaren decided to come into the picture.

"For the last time! It's not rape if she's willing!" he yelled at Caleb, Mina right behind him.

The young Belpois's face wrinkled in disgust. So did Mina's.

"Dude, she's _your_ _sister!_" Caleb shrieked at him.  
"We need to get the boy laid," Aaren replied in a bored tone.

"With your _sister_?" Caleb yelled again.

"Um, now that I think about it. It _is_ pretty gross," Aaren replied.

"Oh, _now_ that he thinks about it," Mina said in a sarcastic voice.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Kevin asked all of a sudden.

They all stared at him then their gazes drifted to Jace. She looked down at her feet.

"'Why don't we let Jace explain and we'll see you down at the cafeteria in ten minutes. If we don't...eh, it's understandable," said Aaren.

Mina punched his arm and he rolled his eyes.

"Let's go, guys,"

They all filed out of Kevin and Aaren's dorm room. Caleb closed the door behind him. Kevin's gaze focused on the only other person in the room, who was currently sitting on his bed. The teenage girl began fiddling with the hem of Kevin's blanket so he took the spot next to her.

"Jace, what are they talking about?" he asked.

The girl looked up at him.

"It's nothing," she told him.

"Nothing? Caleb just said that I _raped_ you! How is that NOTHING?" he asked, his voice getting louder.

Jace placed a hand on his shoulder and he instantly became calm. He stared at her helplessly.

"What did I do while I was drunk?" he asked slowly.

The teen girl stared at her lap. She seemed to be deep in thought.

"Jace," he pleaded.

She looked up at him and sighed.

"You kissed me," she answered.

Kevin froze.

"What?"

"You _kissed_ me. I brought you to your dorm room and while I was getting you in there, you...you kissed me," she confessed.

Kevin blinked once. Twice. So...it _wasn't_ a dream. It was real. A question popped into the young Stern's head.

"Wait a minute. If all I did was kiss you, why was Caleb saying something about rape?" he asked confusedly.

Jace blushed before rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

"Oh, h-he was just j-joking about the whole r-rape thing," she said, stumbling over her words.

Kevin frowned.

"You're lying," he said.

She bit her lip, caught.

"Just...tell me the truth. Caleb wouldn't scream 'rape' if all I did was give you an innocent kiss," said Kevin.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call the kiss 'innocent'," she said.

Realizing what had just come out of her mouth, she slapped a hand over it. Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"And what exactly was it?" he asked, frustrated that he was barely getting anywhere.

Jace looked around the room, trying not to look at him. Kevin growled, tired of her antics.

"I'm still waiting for an answer, y'know," he told her.

Jace sighed.

"Fine. Caleb ran to your room to get something there and he saw us! You had your frigging shirt off and you were pushing me up against the frigging wall, okay?" she asked, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

Kevin gaped at her. He- She- They were-

"Holy shit," he whispered.

"Shit isn't holy," she retorted, crossing her arms across her chest.

He ignored her, instead, choosing cover his face with his hands.

"Oh my gosh," he muttered.

Why? Why? Why? Why? _Why_ was he so god damn _stupid_? One freaking good-ass friendship was thrown right out the window, all because he was too dumb to stop drinking the freaking punch! She probably hated him. No wonder Caleb was so defensive! He didn't know what the hell was going inside Aaren's brain but even _he_ saw it as something wrong! Holy crap! He was such a screw-up!

Jace stared at Kevin as the boy tortured himself.

"Kevin?" she asked.

"I'm as _so_ sorry! I swear, I've never been so sorry in my life! I shouldn't have done something so _stupid_! I'm such a dumb ass. I won't be surprised if you hate me and never want to talk to me and-"

He was stopped when he felt something pressing up against his lips. He opened his eyes and saw Jace's face in front of his, her eyes closed and her nose just barely touching his. Kevin stood stock still, unable to move. Unable to take in the situation. Finally, Jace pulled away, staring at him.

He stared back.

"Honestly, Kevin. I didn't mind," she told him.

He was speechless for a moment before pulling her in for another kiss.

…

A/N: This probably turned out better than I thought. Here you go, Lani! Ya' happy now? I suck at romance so this is the best I could do.

Once I'm done with the dance, it's back to the frigging action cuz, right now, I'd _love_ to see more ass-whooping! Pardon my French.

REVIEW PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE!


	28. Shopping, Music and Happiness

A/N: Too lazy to do the freaking fighting scenes. Let's skip to the ending of the competition!

* * *

Chapter 27

Everything during the competition was the same except that Jace had decided that she didn't want to compete because she had already competed before. So Aaren had taken her place. During the semi-finals, the stats had been changed and Kevin had gone up against Russell while Aaren had gone up against Patrick. They both won so Kevin and Aaren had gone up against each other in the final match.

And guess who won...

_Kevin dodged Aaren's fist and ran forward punching Aaren square on the face, knocking him to the ground._

"_Seriously, you fell for that again?" he asked._

_Aaren groaned, holding his nose._

"_Three-Two. Stern!" shouted the referee. _

Kevin, of course.

"Okay, everyone! Let's give a round of applause for our Mix Martial Arts Champion: Kevin Stern! And to our second place winner: Aaren Della Robbia! Please give them a round of applause!" shouted Pete into the microphone.

Of all the people cheering in the crowd, Jace, Mina, Annie, Emma and Caleb cheered the loudest. When they came down from the stage, each boy holding a trophy in his hand, they were there to congratulate them both.

Caleb punched each of them lightly on the arm.

"Way to go, guys. You did good," he told them.

"1st and 2nd? Not too shabby," Mina commented.

"Great job, guys," said Jace.

Kevin and Aaren both nodded, smiling in triumph.

"So what are we going to do now?" asked Aaren.

Mina smirked.

"Well, Jace, Emma, Annie and I are going to shop for clothes," she told them.

Jace rolled her eyes.

"Her idea, not ours. I think the only ones excited about this trip is her and Emma," she said.

"Wait, we're not gonna be able to see you guys the whole day?" asked Aaren incredulously.

Annie shrugged.

"You know how Mina is with her credit card. I'm surprised her father hasn't taken it away from her yet," said the pinkette.

Mina stuck her tongue out at Annie. The rest of the group laughed.

"Let's get going," said Emma.

"Wait, guys! Remember, we have a gig at the dance!" said Aaren.

Mina nodded.

"Yeah. Kevin's singing this time, right? Bye, guys!" she said, running off.

"Yeah, bye," said Jace, running after Mina.

Annie and Emma followed. The boys stared after them. After a while, Aaren decided to break the silence.

"Well, looks like we gotta get ready for the dance. We're performing tonight!" he told them, cheerfully.

"Yes, and apparently, I'm singing. May I ask what song in particular I'm going to have to sing?" asked Kevin, glaring.

Aaren laughed nervously before whispering something in his ear. Kevin grimaced.

"That song's been annoying me all," he said.

Aaren rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"You and Caleb got the lyrics down, right?" he questioned him.

"Yeah. Whatever. Ever since the last gig," said Kevin, crossing his arms which was pretty hard considering the fact that he was hold a two-and-a-half foot long trophy.

"Alright! Now, we need to get clothes for the dance."

"Dude, it's a semi-formal dance. Where a button-up and jeans," he said, walking off.

Caleb and Aaren watched him walk out the back door, avoiding the crowd.

"That guy has some issues," said Aaren, huffing.

Caleb nodded.

* * *

Mina groaned.

"Would you guys hurry it up? The dance starts at seven! We perform at seven-thirty and it's already six! We need to get back to Kadic!" she yelled in the general direction of the dressing rooms.

She and Jace had already gotten their outfits. They were just waiting for Emma and Annie to change out of their outfits and into regular clothes so that they could get a cab and ride back to Kadic to get changed and ready.

"How long will they be in there?" Mina asked Jace.

The teen stared at the dressing rooms.

"Five. Four. Three. Two. One," she pointed at the door.

Emma and Annie walked out at the same time.

"Alright, I'm done! I got everything. Let's pay!" said the brunette.

"I got it covered," said Mina.

They rolled their eyes but agreed anyways. It was pointless to argue with the navy-haired girl. They paid – well, Mina paid – for their clothes and got a cab back to Kadic. There, Kevin and the boys were waiting.

They were all dressed up.

Aaren had on an orange long-sleeved jacket over a yellow shirt, black pants and orange sneakers. Caleb wore a blue polo with jeans and white sneakers. Kevin was wearing a black button up, a green tie, jeans and black and neon-green converse.

"Hi, boys!" Mina greeted them.

"Hey, girls. The dance starts in 15 minutes. Maybe you guys should go get dressed," Caleb suggested.

They all nodded and ran into Kadic, the boys looking after them. Caleb looked at Aaren and Kevin.

"Good luck, guys. Today will be your first dates with your girlfriends," he told them, clapping them both on the back.

"Well, wasn't Club Six-7-Oh a date?" asked Aaren.

Caleb rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Meet you at the dance," he said, turning around.

"Hey! Where are you going?" asked Aaren.

"I'm going to pick up my date," Caleb answered.

Both Aaren and Kevin looked surprised.

"What happened to Kate?" asked Kevin.

"Uh, broke up this morning. I'm okay, though. I told you. I saw it coming," he said, running off.

Aaren sighed.

"I don't know how that guy can stand a break up. I'd die if Mina broke up with me," he told Kevin.

The dark-haired boy shrugged and walked towards the Gym where they were holding the dance, muttering something about Aaren being overly-dramatic.

Aaren followed him.

"What about you and Jace? How do you guys feel about each other?" he asked.

Kevin blushed. It was so light you'd have thought that you'd probably need the strongest microscope known to man to see it but, he blushed.

"Come on, bro! She's my sister! I have an obligation to her," Aaren continued.

Kevin turned on him.

"Would you just shut your trap?," he asked.

Aaren raised an eyebrow before smirking.

"Do you love her?" he asked.

Kevin looked away.

"Ha! I knew it! I was right! Go, Aaren! Go, Aaren! You're in love with my little sister! You lurve her! You lurve her! You-"

Kevin's hand flew forward and collided with Aaren's face.

"OW! GOD DAMNIT! WHAT THE HELL? KEVIN! YOU _SLAPPED_ ME!" he shrieked.

"God, you're annoying," said Kevin.

"Damn, Kev. Just tell me if you love me sister. I don't want her to be the only one harboring any affections in your relationship. I just want to know she's in good hands," Aaren said, sobering up.

Kevin stared at his friend for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah. I'm in love with her. More than you could possibly imagine."

* * *

They all met at the entrance of the Gym. The girls were – for once – on time. The boys all looked at each female appreciatively.

Mina wore a simple light blue, halter dress. Annie and Emma were both wearing the exact same blouse and skirt ensemble but the difference was that Annie's was pink and Emma's was yellow. Jace wore a tight black blouse with puffy purple sleeves and a purple skirt that reached her the spot right above her knees.

Caleb's date, Rita Jenkins, was a pretty girl with long brown hair and pale skin. She was wearing a short red dress that reached her thighs.

"Hi, everyone! Pete and everyone managed to get our equipment on the stage so we'll be playing in about..." Aaren looked at his watch. "Twenty minutes."

"And _why_ are we performing tonight when our first gig was supposed to be in December at the Christmas Dance?" asked Annie.

"Because I said so," Aaren answered wittily.

"And who made you the leader of our group?" asked Caleb.

"Hey, hey! I'm the one who thought of it so it seems appropriate that _I_ be the leader!" said Aaren.

"God, you people are annoying," Kevin muttered.

Aaren turned on him.

"Well, guess what, pretty boy! _You_ are sing the opening song. Emma, you play drums in place of Kevin. Jace?" he asked his sister.

The little girl looked up.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I know you can play electric guitar, too, so you're performing with us, too!" he ordered her.

Kevin stared at her.

"You play EG?" he asked.

"I practiced over the summer. I also play acoustic," she answered him.

"Alright! Forward! March!" he ordered, walking towards the doors to the Gym.

The rest of the group stared after him.

"Remind me _why_ you like my brother," Jace said to Mina.

"I really don't know," she answered.

They all shrugged and walked into the Gym.

…

"It is my great pleasure to announce Kadic's very own all-student band...Code Breakers!" shouted Pete.

The entire school clapped and cheered as the members of the band walked up to the stage.

"I still think that's a retarded name," muttered Kevin.

"Shut up, grumpy-pants. Just don't faint," said Aaren.

"I don't faint," Kevin answered back angrily.

"Where do I go?" asked Jace.

Aaren pointed at the spot next to him. She walked to him and found that she was standing next to Kevin. Emma was sitting in her spot behind the drums, Annie had her keyboard up front and Caleb and Mina were standing beside Emma and her drums. They were the back-up singers. Jace looked at the crowd worriedly.

Kevin leaned towards her.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine," he whispered reassuringly.

Jace looked up at him and nodded, smiling weakly. Aaren grinned and motioned for Annie to start the piano intro. Kevin smiled and listened as the pinkette started the song out, playing the eerie tune quickly and perfectly. Aaren jumped in, play long, quiet keys with his electric guitar. Then Emma started hitting the drums lightly, setting the beat. And finally, Jace jumped in with the strong, quick chords.

(A/N: I'm not gonna put the whole song, just the intro and chorus. ^_^)

Then the beat slowed down and Kevin started singing.

"_In this farewell,_

_There's no blood, _

_There's no alibi..._

_'Cause I've drawn regret,_

_From the truth,_

_Of a thousand lies..._"

The crowd grew silent as Kevin sang softly. Then his tone turned rough.

"_So let mercy come..._

_And wash away..._

_What I've done!_

_I face myself,_

_To cross out what I've become!_

_Erase myself_

_And let go of what...I've...done!_"

* * *

Kevin smiled and held the little girl in his arms close. It was 11:50 pm – curfew had been extended to 12 because of the dance – and she had fallen asleep a few minutes ago. Kevin took it as his duty to take her back to her dorm. Mina and Aaren were somewhere out in the courtyard, taking a walk and Annie had disappeared to her computer shortly after their gig was over. Caleb and Emma had stayed behind to help stragglers find their way back to their rooms.

Jace shifted slightly and Kevin made his way up the stairs. Her eyes squeezed themselves shut once before opening.

"Hey," said Kevin.

"Hm...hey," she greeted him sleepily.

Kevin chuckled.

"Go to sleep. We're almost to your room," he told her.

She nodded and closed her eyes, gripping his shirt slightly. Kevin thought it was cute how possessive she seemed. She wriggled slightly before opening her eyes again and muttering three beautiful words.

"I love you."

Kevin smiled.

"I love you, too."

* * *

A/N: Dunanunanunanuna!

I win! XD

Review, please! After that, a lot more stuff OTHER than romance. Eh, I'm not that good at romance. ^_^ The name of the song used was 'What I've Done' by Linkin Park.

Next Chapter: Materialization

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!


	29. Materialization  Code Earth

A/N: Yeah, I know I haven't been up in a while because – well – school, practice and family issues were needed to be sorted out. I do NOT plan on terminating this story so don't worry about it. I just had to do some research on this particular section of Code Lyoko because it's so hard for me to understand. If I got anything wrong, please forgive me. I'm not perfect. I'll try to make it right but there _are_ some parts that I'll just end up making up so, once again, please forgive me if I got certain details wrong. I tried my best.

...

Chapter 28

-Time-Skip-

Saturday, Nov. 27th

(That's two month and 25 days, since school started on Sept. 3)

"It's ready!" said Annie, running up to her friends.

"What's ready?" asked the black-haired, purple-highlighted 14-year-old girl currently sitting on Kevin's lap (A/N: If you guys can't figure this out...idk, I just gave you, like, four hints).

Everyone else looked at the pinkette, silently asking the same question.

"The materialization program. It's finished!" Annie told them, grinning.

"Seriously?" asked Aaren.

Annie nodded.

"I just finished it last night!" she said.

"Oh, so _that's_ why you've been so sleepy this past week," Mina commented.

She nodded, rubbing her left eye.

"Yup," she said.

"When can we launch it?" asked Jace.

Annie smiled.

"I planned on launching it this afternoon," she said.

"Well, then. I'll be there!" cheered Aaren.

"Me, too."

"Me, three."

"Count me in!"

"I'm in!"

"Whatever."

Annie laughed and nodded.

"Meet me at the factory at 1 pm. Aaren, did your dad say 'yes' when you asked him about a friend coming to stay at Kadic?" Annie asked.

"Yup. He'll pay for his dorm and everything."

"Cool. Kevin, do you have your back-up story down?"

The dark-haired boy blew a hair out of his face.

"Yeah," he said, pulling Jace a little closer to his body.

"Awesome! I'll meet you all there at one! I'm going to get the program ready to launch. See you!" she said, running off.

They watched run in the direction of the academy. All of a sudden, Aaren cheered. They all turned to stare at him. He grinned.

"Whoo! Jasper's coming!" he yelled.

They all laughed.

…

It was one o'clock and the whole gang was there. Annie pulled a CD out of her bag and looked at all of them.

"This is it," she said.

They all stared at her.

"Get in the scanners and lead Jasper to the de-activated tower. I'll give you the coordinates when you get there. When you're in, I'll start up 'Code:Earth'," she told them.

"I'll stay with Annie in case something goes wrong," said Caleb.

They all nodded and ran down to the scanner room. Kevin, Jace and Emma got in first. Annie started up the virtualization process.

"Transfer Kevin. Transfer Jace. Transfer Emma."

"Scanner Kevin. Scanner Jace. Scanner Emma."

"Virtualization."

…

All five of them were finally in Lyoko and Annie had given them the coordinates. They were to report to the Forest Sector. After a minute or so, they met up with Jasper.

"Let's go," said Kevin.

They all agreed and ran towards the tower Annie had ordered them to go to."  
"There it is!" Aaren exclaimed, pointing at the giant cylinder-shaped building.

Kevin's eyes narrowed.

"Looks like we're not alone."

They all stopped and stared at the approaching monsters. Annie's screen beeped. Her eyes widened.

"Oh, crap! Guys, the Scyphozoa's coming towards you," she warned them.

"Yeah. We see it. Along with the rest of the monsters," said Mina.

"I count ten," said Jace.

"I see fifteen," said Aaren.

Jace looked closer, narrowing her eyes.

"Oh, yeah. I didn't see those five little flying things," she observed.

Annie rolled her eyes.

"Those are _Hornets_," she told them.

"Appropriate names," commented Mina.

"Well, take care of them. You need to get Jasper to the tower in order to start up Code: Earth," said Annie.

"Got it. Aaren, take the two Megatanks. Jace, Emma. The both of you have long-range weaponry. Go for the Hornets. Jasper, take on the three Kankrelats. Mina, the Bloks. I'll go for the three Krabes," said Kevin, forcing his spikes out.

Mina got her swords ready, Aaren unsheathed his claws, Emma unfolded her fan and Jace pulled out her crossbow. Kevin looked at each of them in approval. They stood, shoulder-to-shoulder and stared at the oncoming horde of monsters.

"Three, two, one. Go!" shouted Kevin.

They all started running towards the monsters. A Megatank opened it's shell and prepared to fire when Aaren disappeared and reappeared in front of it, sinking his claws into it's Eye. He jumped back just as it exploded and dodged a shot by one of the Hornets. Jace narrowed her eyes at the flying monsters and Kevin got an idea.

"Jace, jump when I say 'jump'," he told her.

She looked at him then nodded. Kevin ran faster, taking the lead and stopped a few yards in front of them. He turned to Jace who was only a few feet away.

"Jump!"

She jumped and landed on his forearm. Using his Super Strength, he threw her up in the air, where she became leveled with the Hornets. Using her sharp eyesight and good aim, she managed to destroy two of the five. As she fell back to the ground, Kevin jumped and caught her.

"Good job," he said, settling her down and going for the first Krabe.

He jumped and landed on his, stabbing his spiked fist into it's Eye before jumping off onto the next one. He managed to destroy that one too and jumped off of it, landing next to Jasper who had already destroyed one of the three Kankrelats.

"How's it going?" he asked casually, avoiding one of the Krabe's pincers.

Jasper destroyed yet another Kankrelat and dodged a laser from one of the Bloks. Mina jumped on top of it and stabbed her sword right through it before doing a back flip off of it. Emma, who was standing right next to her, was blocking the Hornet's lasers with her fan while Jace was firing off arrow after arrow. She had managed to hit another one when she got hit in the shoulder by a Blok.

The computer screen blinked and showed an image of Jace's body; her shoulder area was blinking red.

"Jace. You just lost 40 life points."

Two lasers came from one of the Hornets and managed to hit Kevin on his back. He fell forward and the Krabe fired a laser at his chest, causing him to fly backwards, onto his back.

"Damnit Kevin! Eighty life points! You've only got 20 left!" shouted Annie.

Kevin got to his feet shakily and looked at each of his team mates. They were dodging and jumping around, trying to attack yet trying to avoid getting attacked. He sighed when something registered into his brain. It was as if someone was feeding his brain codes. He fell to the ground, on his hands and knees.

"Kevin! What's wrong?" asked Jace.

His comrades turned to look at him, causing Emma to get hit once on the shoulder by a Hornet.

"Twenty life points!" exclaimed Annie.  
"What's wrong with Kevin?" asked Mina.

He shook slightly, breathing hard before his head snapped up and his eyes had what seemed to be and upside-down version of XANA's Eye.

"What the hell is that?" asked Aaren, backing away slightly.

Jasper noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that the Scyphozoa was retreating.

"What's what?" asked Annie.

"Here, look through my eyes," offered Jasper.

A window popped up in the computer screen and both Annie and Caleb were able to see what was happening.

"There's no way..." Caleb trailed off.

"What is it?" asked Emma.

(A/N: This part I'm just making up.)

"That symbol. It's the same one my mother had on her I.D. Card. It _may_ represent the genuine opposite of XANA, Franz Hopper. Either way, it seems to be a representation of great power against XANA," Annie informed them.

"So he's possessed?" asked Aaren.

Annie clicked a few keys.

"I don't think so. He just seems to have a giant surge of power being generated through his body."

Kevin yelled once.

"Grab onto something! Stay away from the ground!" he ordered.

"What?" asked Mina.  
"JUST DO IT!" he shouted.

They obeyed, jumping away from the monsters and grabbing onto various boulders and trees. Kevin glowed a dark green..

"What the f-"

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

The glow from Kevin's body flowed down his body and onto the forest floor. It started to spread out, heading directly towards the remaining monsters. The glow seemed to – for lack of better word – _infect_ the monsters. It latched onto the Krabe's legs, it covered the Megatank, the Kankrelat and the Blok, and it shot up and latched itself onto the Hornets. His comrades watched in awe as the monsters struggled to get free when all of a sudden, the entire thing exploded in a batch of brilliant white light. They all had to close their eyes to avoid going blind and cover their ears to avoid going deaf from the sound of the explosion.

When they opened their eyes again, the monsters were gone.

So was Kevin.

Jace and Emma jumped off of the boulder they were standing on. Mina, Jasper and Aaren all jumped off the trees they had latched on to. They searched for any sign of movement but saw none but their own.

"Where'd he go?"

…

The scanner doors opened and Kevin collapsed onto the floor, breathing hard. Caleb climbed down the ladder to his side.

"Hey, bro. That was awesome. How are you?" he asked, helping his friend up.

Kevin grunted slightly as he was lifted to his feet. He sighed heavily.

"Feels like I just died," he said gravely.

Caleb chuckled.

"You did good, kid."

…

"Get to the tower," Annie ordered them.

"Where's Kevin?" they all demanded.

"I'm here," came a sleepy voice.

"Kevin!"

"You're alive!"

"Thank God!"

Kevin chuckled.  
"Guys. Get to the deactivated tower now. We'll deal with all this stuff later," said Kevin.

"Aye-aye, Cap'n," said Aaren.

Mina smiled and looked at Jasper.

"Alright, guys. Let's go."

They took off towards the tower and stopped in front of it. They let Jasper in first before each of them followed after.

"Get into position on the center of the platform, Jasper," said Annie.

Jasper walked onto the circle in the middle of the platform.

"Guys, let's de-virtualize ourselves. I wanna see this," said Aaren.

They all nodded. Jace shot both Emma and Aaren. They were then materilized back through the scanners.

Jace turned to Mina and smiled. She launched an arrow just as Mina stabbed her with one of her swords. They were both materialized and saw Emma, Aaren, Caleb and Kevin standing there.

Annie loaded the CD into the computer and started clicking the keyboard.

Back in the tower, Jasper was lifted up in mid-air and stayed there, arms out, eyes closed.

Annie pressed Enter.

"Code Earth."

The virtual windows engulfed Jasper in a cylinder-like shield and he disappeared into fragments. Annie climbed down the ladder and ran to her friends. They all faced the middle scanner and waited. After a nervous moment, it opened with a hiss and a boy with red hair was lying there. He had on a red shirt, jeans and sneakers. They gasped slightly at the sight.

He let out a low grunt before opening his eyes to reveal two, emerald-green pupils. He looked up at them with a smile. Annie laughed.

"Welcome to Earth, Jasper."

…

A/N: I tried to make this extra long for you guys so this is what I came up with. I didn't want to come up with a side story because that would eventually lead me to give you guys a cliff hanger and I just wanted to do it all in one-shot.

PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE!

Next chapter will be up soon!

PLEASE REVIEW!


	30. Civics

Chapter 29

"Life is so different here on earth," Jasper observed. "It's so warm here and there are so many colors. There are so many smells, too."

"Yeah, well, I'd advise not to go anywhere within a thirty-foot radius of the dumpster behind the cafeteria unless you want to die of suffocation. And that would suck," said Aaren.

"Jeez, do you _ever_ shut up?" asked Kevin.

"Nope!" Aaren replied cheerily.

Kevin sighed and Jasper smiled.

"Where are we going again?" asked the redhead.

"We're going to get you enrolled. Principle Delmas is going to give you your schedule and we'll see what classes you're in. I doubt that you'll be in any of our classes since, technically, you're younger than Aaren and I but I'll bet that you'll be in a few classes with Annie, Emma and Jace," said Kevin in a bored tone.

Aaren snickered.

"That's possibly the longest sentence I've ever heard him say when he's _not_ explaining the postulates of triangle congruency," said Aaren.

"That's about the most sophisticated sentence I've ever heard you say," Kevin retorted.

Jasper laughed. After a while, they arrived at the principle's office. Nicole, Mr. Delmas's secretary, greeted them and told them to go straight in. They knocked on Mr. Delmas's door and walked right in. The principle was sitting on his desk, organizing some papers. He looked up and smiled when he saw his grandson.

"Ah, Aaren. How nice to see you. I see you brought your friend, Kevin and...oh! This must be our new student, Mr. Jasper De Luna. Nice to meet you, son," he said to Jasper.

"Er, h-hello, sir," Jasper said nervously.

Mr. Delmas smiled and motioned for him to take the seat in front of him. Jasper sat down silently.

"Um, Mr. De Luna. You have no school records whatsoever. I'm curious about that. I'm also curious as to why your parents are not here to meet me on your first day. Actually, you have no birth certificate," said the principle, raising an eyebrow.

Jasper fidgeted slightly in his seat and Kevin decided to step in.

"Mr. Delmas, as you know, Jasper is a close family friend. His parents perished in a house fire a few years ago and everything was lost. His birth certificate, his school and medical records, everything. He's been staying with my Uncle Georg – a distant cousin of my father's – who just recently fell ill and could not accompany Jasper on his first day at Kadic. He asked me to take care of him during his stay here and I agreed," he lied smoothly.

Delmas looked at Jasper sympathetically.

"Is that true, boy?" he asked.

Jasper nodded quickly, following up on Kevin's act.

"Well, then. I guess that I won't give you any problems about your enrollment. When you are able to give me a birth certificate, please inform me so that I will be able to enter it into the system. Now, since you have no school records, I am forced to give you a diagnostic test to see what grade I should enroll you in. Kevin, Aaren, please step outside," ordered Delmas.

Kevin and Aaren looked at each other nervously. They could not trust Jasper being alone with anyone, especially someone who had already been possessed by XANA once.

"Go, now," Delmas said firmly.

They nodded and turned for the door.

"Just call if anything happens," Aaren whispered to Jasper.

The redhead nodded.

…

Kevin and Aaren walked into Civics class and settled into their desks.

"I hope Jasper's alright. He hasn't called," said Aaren.

"Maybe nothing went wrong," suggested Kevin.

"Yeah, I guess. I'll just ask him to text me his schedule," he said, pulling his phone out.

Aaren was one of the fastest texters in school. Kevin was pretty sure that he texted an average of 50 IM's per minute. He was done in ten seconds and slipped his phone into his pocket. Mr. Trevelyan turned to the class and smiled.

"Hello, children. It's nice to see all of you today. I seemed to have lost my lesson plan today so it seems that we'll just have to some book work," he said.

The entire class groaned.  
"What? You don't want to do book work?" Draco asked with an amused expression on his face.

"No!" shouted out several of the students.

Draco sat on the edge of his desk.

"Then what shall we do? I have to educate you children," he said.

"Tell us about your life, Mister," Aaren suggested.

Many of the girls agreed and so did some of the boys. Draco was a secretive and interesting teacher. Besides, the kids were always in for a good flashback. Draco tapped his chin in thought and shrugged.

"Sure, why not. Besides, maybe a story about my past will lead you to make better choices in the future," he decided.

Some of the kids cheered. They were glad they weren't going to do book work. Aaren's phone vibrated in his pocket and he sneaked it out. He tapped Kevin's shoulder.

"Jasper has 1st and 2nd period with us. He's got 3rd period with Annie, 4th with everyone else and 5th with Caleb. He's on his way from the main office here. It'll take him a few minutes," Aaren told him.

Kevin nodded and they both faced Draco as he began his tale.

"Alright, children. I guess, I'll start from when I was 15, since many of you are that age right now. I attended Kadic Academy like all of you. I will admit that I was not perfect; I was the total opposite. I had some family issues that still haunt me to this day and I was in a bad place. I didn't turn to drugs or alcohol, but I _did_ get involved in several fights at school and my grades dropped. Then I went off to a high school in Paris. There, I met a young woman when I was 17. Her name was Isabelle Monreau. Beautiful, funny and smart. However, we were not careful and I got her pregnant."

Many of the kids' eyes bugged. Their perfect teacher was a teenage father? Impossible. Many of them moved closer to listen.

"A few months after I turned 18, Isabelle gave birth to twins. Two healthy young boys. They were named Aidan and Shawn. They are both 17 now and are in their senior years since they both went to school early. That first year was hard and before I knew it, Isabelle was pregnant again. We still weren't married; I had only graduated high school and had no other kind of education so I was working shifts at a car factory to support my family. Isabelle gave birth to another batch of twins: Justin and Zachary. Think of that, children. I was only 19 years old and I already had four children. I had to clean up my act because my salary simply wouldn't be able to support a family of six."

Everyone was quiet. Both Aaren and Kevin were deeply absorbed with the story.

"So what did you do, sir?" asked one of the girls.

Draco smiled.

"I decided to go back to school. Isabelle and I agreed that it was what was best and we moved in with her parents since we couldn't afford an apartment at the time. I enrolled in community college, so did Isabelle. She got her Bachelor's Degree while I went on to pursue a Master's Degree. While we were attending school, when I was twenty-one, Isabelle gave birth to yet another pair of twins, one boy and one girl. But out of the both of them, our daughter was stillborn – the result of a complication at birth. We buried the unborn child and named her Mercy. We were glad that God had been merciful towards and accepted her into heaven instead of letting her stay on Earth where she would've lived a life hooked up to machines and tubes. We named our son, Ventus. Which means 'wind'. In both Isabelle's family and mine, wind was always a sign of strength and evasion. He had evaded death and had been born healthy and strong. The strange thing was that he was the spitting image of my younger brother who died when I was young," he laughed.

The whole sat there absorbed. Aaren raised his hand. Draco motioned for him to speak.

"So what's the moral of the story?" he asked.

"The moral? I believe that the moral is that, children, you choose the paths you take and you must choose them wisely. You control your own fate, your own happiness," he smiled. "My children will actually be coming a few weeks so you'll get to meet them and bug them all you want."

The class laughed.

"So that's it. That's my story," he finished.

The door opened and the whole class turned towards the doorway, not expecting an interruption. Mr. Delmas walked through the door, Jasper right behind him. Trevelyan looked up and his eyes widened.

And before everyone in the class, one major thing happened.

Draco Trevelyan fainted.

…

A/N: Yay. I finished!

LEAVE A REVIEW PLEASE!


	31. Shut Down

A/N: Merry Christmas, everyone! Here's another chapter for Second Generation Relapse (_that's _a mouthful)! Oh, and don't forget to vote for your favorite character in my polls! ^-^ I'll try to update more often since it's the holidays.

...

Chapter 30

"Does he hate me?" asked the redhead.

"He doesn't _hate_ you, Jasper. I really have no idea why he fainted," said Aaren.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked again.

"You didn't do anything wrong. That guy's just weird," Kevin told him.

Jasper nodded. It just felt strange that the first teacher he met fainted when he first saw him.

"Anyways, we have Geometry next. You'll do a lot better there seeing as how you spent so much time in that super computer," Aaren said cheerfully.

"I suppose," said Jasper.

Aaren patted him on the back.

"It'll be _fine_," said Aaren.

Kevin nodded.

"Yeah. Besides, with your brain, _you_ could end up as the teacher," Kevin pointed out.

Jasper laughed.

"Well, at least I know that there's _one_ class I won't fail," he said happily.

Aaren and Kevin chuckled.

"Let's go. Mrs. Meyer doesn't tolerate tardies," said Aaren, pulling his arm towards their next class.

They walked into Geometry class and was greeted by their teacher, Mrs. Meyer. They walked up to her with Jasper by their side.

"Hey, Mrs. M! We have a new student in our class," Aaren told her, pointing at Jasper.

She smiled at him.

"Well, hello, young man. May I ask what your name is?" she asked.

"Jasper De Luna, Mrs. Meyer," he answered quietly.

"Ah, we have a shy one. Well, I hope you enjoy your time here in Geometry class as well as Kadic Academy," she told him with a smile.

He smiled back and took a seat between Aaren and Kevin. Mrs. Meyer hushed the class and started writing on the board. After writing a few equations, she turned to the class.

"Everyone, we have a new student in this class. I'll let him introduce himself," she said warmly, motioning for Jasper to stand up.

Jasper froze. Aaren nudged him to his feet and he turned to face the class.

"I-I..." he trailed off before sighing. "My name is Jasper De Luna. I'm fourteen and was placed in 9th grade class because of my diagnostic test scores. I'm an old family friend of Kevin's and I'm glad to be here at Kadic Academy."

He quickly took his seat and Mrs. Meyer smiled.

"Thank you, Jasper. Now which one of you can tell me what a convex set is?" she asked the class.

Both Kevin and Jasper raised their hands. The teacher looked surprised.

"I'd like to here from Jasper actually, Mr. Stern," she told Kevin.

The dark-haired teen just shrugged boredly and leaned on the palm of his hand. Mrs. Meyer motioned for Jasper to speak. He took in a deep breath.

"A convex set is a set of points in which all segments connecting points of the set lie entirely in the set," he said.

"Thank you, Mr. De Luna-"

Jasper cut her off.

"Furthermore, there are three things one can do to see if a figure is convex. One, look for "dents". Two, extend the segments so that they do not enter the figure. Three, connect any two points within the figure with a segment because if any part of the segment lies outside the figure, it stands to rule that the figure will be renamed a 'concave set' which is a set of points in which **not** all segments connecting points of the set lie entirely within the set," he finished.

Aaren grabbed his hair.

"Agh! Kill me already! I didn't get _any_ of that!" he complained.

Many of the other students agreed except for Kevin who was practically a Geometry textbook. Mrs. Meyer looked impressed.

"Well, well. It looks like we have _another_ genius in my class."

* * *

"You should've seen him! He was all 'Furthermore, there are...two – wait, no – three – four..." Aaren trailed off.

Kevin rolled his eyes.

"Jasper went on to explain three ways to see whether or not a figure was convex and moved on to explain what a concave set was," he told the rest of his friends.

"Yeah...I still don't get it," said Aaren.

The whole group laughed.

"You don't get _anything_, Aaren," Emma told him.

He stuck his tongue out of her.

"So Annie, how was Jasper doing in English 8?" asked Mina.

The pinkette smiled.

"He was great. Got a perfect score on a pop quiz, right Jasper?" asked Annie.

The red head nodded and blushed slightly.

"So how do you like Earth so far?" asked Caleb, biting into his apple.

"It's great. So many smells and colors and tastes. It's hard not to fall in love with this place," he answered.

"Yeah, well. Looks like we're ready to shut down the super computer then, right?" asked Jace.

Annie nodded. "Shall we meet there tonight?" she asked.

They all nodded. Jasper stared at his chicken blankly. Annie touched his arm lightly and he turned to face her.

"Jasper, are you alright?" she asked him.

The red head sighed.

"Well, Lyoko was my home for so long. It feels weird to know that it'll be gone forever," he answered.

"Well, shutting down the super computer means no more XANA which means that the world will be just little safer with him out of the picture," Caleb pointed out.

Jasper shrugged.

"I guess. I just have a really bad feeling about it."

* * *

They were all gathered around the super computer, staring at it. Annie walked up to it and placed her hand on the handle.

Jasper flinched.

"XANA. You've caused us a lot of grief and worry. Because of you, we got to meet Jasper, though, so something good came out of it. This is for everything you've done to the world. Goodbye, XANA," she finished and pulled the switch down.

At that very moment, Jasper fell to the ground. Aaren and Caleb managed to catch him in time though. He was unconscious.

"Turn the super computer back on, Annie! Now!" ordered Mina.

Annie's eyes widened but she flipped the switch back on then ran to Jasper's side.

"What happened to him?" she asked worriedly.

"He fainted exactly when you turned the super computer off," Mina answered.

Annie groaned.

"Damn. I should've known this would happen."

Ten minutes later, Jasper managed to open his eyes again. He looked around and saw all of his friends sitting around him with worried looks on their faces. He grunted and tried to get vertical. He blinked twice.

"Ugh. What happened?" he asked.

"You fainted," Kevin told him.

"Felt good," Jasper commented.

Kevin chuckled.

"Jasper. In this world, fainting is not normal. I-I think XANA might have given you a virus to keep you linked to the super computer," said Annie.

"That way," continued Kevin. "We can't kill XANA without killing you."

Jasper sighed.

"So what do we do? Keep fighting?" he asked hopelessly.

"Yes. Until we can find a way to remove the virus from you," said Annie.

Jasper sighed again.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please go vote for your favorite character in the poll in my profile! REVIEW and MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU!


	32. Problems

A/N: FOUR reviews? Okay, I know it's Christmas Break and everyone's out but-but-but *starts crying*. I _was_ going to update the day right after Christmas day but I only saw, like, two reviews! Seriously, guys! I check each and every review because I love seeing that people are actually reading my story but I feel like you guys are losing interest. *sniffs*

I swear, I'm going to track so many of you guys and kill you.

I swear, I'm gonna murder someone!

…

…

…

Please enjoy the following chapter.

...

Chapter 31

A couple of weeks had past since Jasper's materialization and...they had developed a problem.

"That man has been dogging us for days now!" Aaren complained, stuffing some croissants into his mouth.

Kevin rolled his eyes at his best friend but agreed nonetheless.

"It's gonna get harder and harder to keep our secret if Mr. Trevelyan keeps following us around like some kind of detective," Annie warned him.

Kevin nodded. Draco Trevelyan had decided that something was up with their group and figured that he'd try to find out exactly what that was. They had been careful not to stay out too late, not to do anything suspicious. If they were needed or if XANA attacked, they always managed to evade him whenever he had tried to follow them. They were careful about what they talked about when he was around and had tried to act as normal as possible.

Unfortunately, that was not enough to get Draco off their tail.

"If he keeps this up, he might actually find out our secret," said Mina.

Emma scoffed and crossed her arms across her chest.

"I really don't think that one teacher is going to find out our secret," she told them.

Kevin stared at her.

"We should be careful nonetheless. Everything we've been doing will be _exposed_ if it gets out that there's a supercomputer hidden in an abandoned factory harboring a powerful super-virus hellbent on destroying all of mankind!" he said.

"Guys, just, calm down," said Mina, placing a hand on both of them.

They both sighed and relaxed into their seats. Their navy-haired friend looked between the both of them.

"Tensions are high now. We don't need anyone getting into a fight," she told them.

Emma nodded. Kevin just looked away. Aaren sighed and stuffed some more food into his mouth before swallowing and turning to Annie.

"How far are you on that anti-virus program?" he asked.

Annie shrugged and stared out the window.

"Still far. It'll take a few months. Maybe even a year," she told them.

Caleb perked up.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm sorry but the program has been really hard to fix and it's taking so much time to decode and restore. I just don't have enough time to-"

Caleb cut her off.

"We don't _have_ a year, Annie. Kadic Academy only extends to the ninth grade. In a year, Kevin, Mina, Aaren and I will be attending _high school_. We won't be able to help you guys out next year so you gotta find a way to get that virus out of Jasper so we can shut down that damn super computer because I can guarantee you that once we're out of here and you still haven't finished that program, XANA won't be very easy to destroy without our help," he said in a serious tone.

"I hate to agree with that fact but it's true, Annie," Kevin said with a sigh.

Annie stared at both of them before burying her face in her hands.

"I'm sorry! I've been trying! It's just that I'm no robot, guys! I can't work on it 24/7!" she told them.

They were all silent for a moment before Mina decided to speak.

"Annie, we know you've been doing all you can," she said.

The pinkette looked up at her.

"I just feel like it's not enough," she said helplessly.

They all sighed and slouched into their chairs. After a few seconds, Jasper leaned forward and grabbed Annie's hand. She looked up with a hopeless look in her eyes.

"How about I help? We can arrange a schedule so that the two of us can work on it. That way we get more work done in a shorter amount of time," he suggested.

Annie smiled.

"That would be great, Jasper," she answered.

He smiled back.

"Hey, guys. I've been thinking a bit about the whole 'Draco fainting' thing," said Jace.

"What exactly have you been thinking about?" asked Kevin.

"You said that Draco fainted right after he saw Jasper, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," Aaren and Kevin said in unison.

"That happened exactly after he told you guys his life story, right?"

"What are you getting at?" asked Kevin, leaning forward.

"Well, something bugged me. You told me that he said that his brother disappeared a long time ago and that his son looked a lot like a his younger brother. Did he ever say _exactly_ when his brother disappeared?" she inquired.

Aaren and Kevin thought deeply.

"Well...he started his story off when he was fifteen saying that he had some family problems. That could probably be around the time that his brother went missing. That means that happened..." Kevin trailed off.

"Twenty years ago. Emma and I took a look at Draco's records," Jace told him.

Aaren rose an eyebrow.

"Well, well. Doing some snooping around lately?" he asked in a smug tone.

Jace shot him a look.

"Like you said, he's been dogging us for days. We thought that it's only fair that we got to do some detective work ourselves," she said.

"So he's 35 years old? Pretty young for a teacher," Mina commented.

"Back to the subject. So what about Draco and his little episode?" asked Kevin.

Jace sighed and stared at Jasper.

"I think that...Jasper may be Draco Trevelyan's long-lost brother."

…

"It's a possibility," said Aaren.

"Yeah, well. Possibility does inquire some doubt. I don't think it's true," said Kevin.

"Well, why not? I mean, if it's true then that would explain why Draco's been acting to off-kilter lately. It would probably freak you out if you saw your presumably dead brother appear in your Civics class without aging so much as a day," Aaren argued.

Kevin shrugged. Aaren groaned.

"Jeez, Kevin. You're such a killjoy. I mean, look. It's a definite possibility. It might even be true. If it _does_ turn out to be true then we'd know more about Jasper's past! He'd have a long-lost brother! Why are you so against the idea?" he asked seriously, staring Kevin in the eye.

The dark-haired boy stared back.

"Because he said _died_, Aaren. Without any hesitation, without so much as a one-second pause. He said _died _ and didn't so much as look away. He looked us straight in the eye and said that his brother _died_. That means he knew he was dead."

…

A/N: Yeah, a little late. I tried to get this there before Christmas but projects, Nino Visitation and family issues kept me from working on my story. I have decided to start a rubric for Christmas Break since I'll be updating earlier than usual for the next couple of weeks.

8-10 reviews – 1 day

5-7 reviews – 2-3 days

4 and down – 4-5 days

You guys are lucky I'm in a good mood today. For those who didn't review on the last chapter, review TWICE for both chapters if you wanna see the next chapter up!

I am in THREATENING mode so you guys better review!


	33. The Della Robbias

A/N: Yay! Another chapter! Sorry that I was so b**chy during the last chapter. Stress...

...

Chapter 32

-Time-Skip-

December 24th

"So we agree? We're all staying here on during Christmas Break?" asked Annie.

"Oh, uh. Except me. Jake and I are going home today. Sorry but you guys know how my father is," said Mina.

Aaren chuckled and hugged Mina closer. Annie rolled her eyes.

"Okay. Everyone except Mina. Did all of you guys get permission?" she asked.

The others all nodded.

"My parents were a bit upset that we weren't going to be able to come home for the holidays but they gave in after Emma started fake crying into the phone. They said they'll drop off our presents Christmas Day," said Kevin.

"Same here," said Jace.

Annie sat back in her chair and sighed.

"Well, most of the gang will be here during the Break. Seven is more than enough to fight off XANA," said Kevin.

Jace perked up.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot! Aaren!" she said, facing her brother.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Willow and Audrey are coming!" she said happily.

"No way! Seriously?" he asked in an excited tone.

Kevin looked at Jace.

"Willow and Audrey. Those are your twin sisters, right?" he asked.

"Yup. They're coming today! They'll be here in an hour!" she announced.

"Awesome! I haven't seen those two brats for so long!" Aaren rejoiced.

Just then, an annoyingly familiar voice was heard.

"Did I hear right? The two little ones are coming today?"

They all looked up and saw Lizzy standing there, an expecting look on her face. For once, Jace smiled at her.

"Yup. The twins are coming in a little bit. Mom and Dad are dropping them off," she informed her sister.

The only subject that Jace, Aaren and Lizzy all came to the same conclusion about was their youngest siblings, Willow and Audrey. Of the entire family, they were the most loved. Even Lizzy, with her selfishness and snarky attitude, loved having them around and even offered to take care of them when she wasn't busy.

"Well, expect me there when they arrive," she said before departing.

The entire group stared after her before getting back to the subject.

"How old are those two? I haven't seen them in a _long_ time," said Caleb.

"They just turned three," said Jace.

"Well, it'll be great to have some decent company around," said Annie.

"Are you saying that we're bad company?" asked Aaren.

"Would it hurt you so much if I said 'yes'?" she joked.

"Ouch! Yes."

…

Jace, Aaren, Lizzy (who had kept her promise of being there), Kevin, Emma, Mina, Caleb, Jasper and Annie were all standing at the entrance of Kadic Academy, waiting, when a black Porsche came up the driveway. The license plate had the letters 'ODR' printed on it and a picture of a purple cat was painted on the hood. It parked right in front of them and the driver's door opened to reveal a full-grown Odd Della Robbia. He was wearing a purple t-shirt, black jeans and shades. His hair was still pointy with the purple mark at it's center.

Jace, Aaren and Lizzy all ran forward to embrace their father. Now standing at 5'11 (much taller than before) he was able to hug all three of them.

"Hey, punks! How's it going?" he asked happily, pulling away to look at each of his children. "Wow, you guys have grown! Well, _matured_. Aaren, you're still the same height that I remembered."

"Dad!" exclaimed Aaren.

The group laughed and Odd looked up.

"Ah! This must be the friends that Aaren and Jace have been so chatty about during the summer!" he said.

He took a short look at each of them.

"Let me guess. Kevin Stern," he said, pointing at Kevin.

"Correct," Kevin told him.

"You look like your dad but you've got your mother's hair color. Emma Stern, I presume," he said, looking at Emma.

She nodded.

"Look exactly like Yumi but with Ulrich's hair color.

He went off to guess the rest of them and got everyone right. Then he finally turned to Jasper.

"Hm. Don't believe I've heard of you," he observed.

"My name's Jasper De Luna, sir. I'm new here," he told Odd.

The old Della Robbia smiled.

"Well, I hope that Kadic proves to be an interesting place for you, Jasper. I know it was for me," he said.

The group all exchanged various looks. Then they heard a shrill voice coming from the Porsche.

"Odd! Help me get these little brats down!" shouted Sissi.

They all turned to look at the woman currently holding a big bag on one arm with a her hand on her hip wearing a crossed look written all over her face.

"I'll help!" Jace and Aaren both volunteered.

Lizzy just followed them. Aaren and Jace both disappeared into the Porsche and came out with the most adorable three-year-olds in their arms. Both Willow and Audrey had fair skin and straight blonde hair. They had dark eyes, rosy cheeks and were in matching purple outfits. Each child was laughing and hugging their elder siblings. They were even happy to see Lizzy and were kissing her cheeks and giggling when she tried to wipe their saliva off of her face.

The rest of the group felt a bit out-of-place witnessing such a family moment.

Odd smiled and walked to his children.

"It's time for me to go, kids," he told them.

They all looked up with sad faces.

"Aw, Dad! Can't you stay just a _little_ while?" begged Aaren.

Odd shook his head.

"Sorry, son. But a million-dollar, video-game company doesn't run itself. I've got to get back to work but we'll be back tomorrow to pick up these two," he said, pinching Willow and Audrey's cheeks.

He kissed each of daughters on the forehead and hugged Aaren. He pulled off his shades and placed his hands on his son's shoulders.

"Take care of your sisters," he told him.

Aaren chuckled.

"Sometimes, I wish that you and mom could actually produce another son so I wouldn't always have that responsibility," he told his dad.

Odd laughed.

"You love having that responsibility. Plus, don't give your mother any ideas. She wanted you guys and I don't know whether or not she'll try for six," he joked, hugging his kids one last time.

He walked to the driver's side of his car and stared at each of his children's faces.

"I love you, guys," he told them.

"We love you, too, Dad. Merry Christmas," said Aaren.

Odd smiled.

"Merry Christmas."

…

_'Those stupid kids are getting closer to creating the anti-virus program. I can't let that happen. What should I do?' _thought XANA.

An idea formed in his, er, brain (he's a computer, what the hell do I call it?). A spectre appeared in the middle of one of the utility rooms inside of Kadic. It took on the physical form of none other than Jace Della Robbia.

_'Do you understand your mission?' _XANA asked.

The clone nodded.

_'You will have to try harder than usual. You can not be distant and detached. You are a unique creation of mine. You are about as human as I can make you. Do not fail me,'_ XANA ordered.

The Jace clone nodded again.

_'This should show them how serious I am. Knowing young Miss Della Robbia, this victory shall indeed be a rewarding one.'_

...

A/N: Late? Yeah, I know. I tried to get to this part sooner so that it would actually BE on Christmas Eva but, eh, whatever. So Odd's back (only for this chapter) and you finally find out how he became a millionaire. ^_^ PLEASE REVIEW AND DON'T FORGET TO VOTE IN MY POLL!


	34. True or False

A/N: For the record, I absolutely ADORE the Della Robbia twins! Just remember to check my poll and vote up your favorite character!

...

Chapter 33

"I want Kevin!"

"No, I want him!"

"No, me!"

"No, me!"

"Me!"

"Me!"

Aaren laughed.

"I think they're in love with you, Kev," he told his best friend.

Kevin scowled at him.

Audrey and Willow had, apparently, taken a liking to him and, for the past five minutes, they were fighting over who got to be held by him first. Though cute, it was starting to get a little annoying.

"My turn!"

"No, my turn!"

"My turn!"

Kevin snapped.

"Alright! That's enough!" he announced.

The two little girls looked up at him before squealing in excitement as he lifted each of them onto his strong shoulders. He turned around and started walking. Both girls started laughing.

"I say we take these brats to the cafeteria. I'm betting they're hungry," he said, walking out the door.

Aaren and Emma decided to follow him. Annie, Caleb and Jasper had decided to work together on the anti-virus program, Jace had gone off to finish a test she had missed during one of the regular school days and Mina had left an hour after Willow and Audrey had arrived so it was just the five of them, counting the twins.

"Don't drop them!" Aaren told Kevin as they descended the stairs.

"Yeah, don't drop us, Kevin!" the twins giggled in unison.

Kevin rolled his eyes and walked down the stairs at a faster place.

"I won't drop you two knuckleheads, alright?" he asked.

"Alright," they said again.

"Alright, Aaren?" he asked his friend.

"Shut up," he answered.

"Jealous," Kevin teased.

Aaren glared at him.

"Like I said, shut up."

…

Jace struggled against the ropes that bound her to the metal bars. She should've known that XANA would attack her while she was alone. She had been knocked out and brought here on her way to take her test. She remembered seeing the face that tied her up. It was hers.

Jace laughed to herself.

A polymorphic clone. How original. She pulled again on her restraints. No luck. Dang. Her wrists were beginning to her from the friction created by the ropes. Her eyes roamed around the empty cage that the clone had locked her in. Where was she anyway? She was in the forest, that much she knew. There was nothing else to help her recognize her surroundings, though. Nothing but trees, trees and more trees.

"Just great," she muttered.

Jace saw something shining on the floor. It was a piece of metal that had been broken off from one of the rusty bars that made up the cage. She reached for it with her foot. Too far.

"Damn it!" she cursed.

Jace hung her head for a few minutes. Finally, she broke into tears.

"Help!"

...

Kevin, the twins, Emma and Aaren arrived at the cafeteria for lunch. There were only a few students there seeing as how everyone went home for Christmas Break. Of course, there were quite a few girls in the building so, yeah, mistletoe was something to be avoided at all costs unless Kevin wanted to get sexually harassed. He had learned that from the last Christmas. He settle to two toddlers at one of the tables and looked at both of them.

"Stay," he ordered.

"Okay," smiled Willow.

Kevin quickly learned that she was the obedient one.

"I wanna follow Kevin," complained Audrey, crossing her tiny arms across her chest.

Audrey, on the other hand, was less willing to listen to orders.

"Don't you wanna stay with me?" asked Aaren.

Audrey looked at him.

"I want Kevin," she told him, her voice getting slightly whiny.

"Ow. The bruised my ego," said Aaren, clutching his chest dramatically.

Kevin shook his head.

"You guys stay with your brother and I'll get the food," he said firmly.

Audrey pouted and stared at him with big eyes.

"Please?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Aw, look, Kev. She's sad. How long can you resist that puppy-dog face?" Aaren asked with a grin.

Kevin glared at him before sighing.

"Come on," he said.

"Yay!" cheered Audrey before grabbing Kevin's finger in her little hand.

He smiled at her before walking up to the counter and asking for some food. The lunch lady smiled at him and handed him two trays of food that he balanced easily on one hand.

"Okay. Back to the table, ya' brat," he told Audrey.

She ran towards the table where Emma, Willow and Aaren were sitting on. Kevin saw her jump on the table and hug Aaren, probably apologizing for ditching him for Kevin. Aaren smiled and kissed Audrey's forehead. Kevin walked slower so that he was still many yards from the table. Then he bumped into a certain someone. He looked down and grinned at who he saw.

"Hey, Jace," he greeted the little girl in front of him.

Jace smiled up at him.

"Seems like someone else has stolen your heart," she said, glancing once at her little sister.

Kevin looked up and laughed.

"She's quite a looker but she's not my type. I have another girl running through my mind," he told her.

Jace grinned and stood up on her toes to kiss him on the lips. Kevin smiled at her. Jace looked up at him.

"I actually came here to gather the twins. Lizzy's been running my ear off about how much she wanted to see the two little rascals," she told him.

Kevin rolled his eyes but left and returned with both of the twins. He handed them over to Jace.

"Aaren said to bring them back in a couple of hours. That idiot can go very long without these two today," he laughed.

Jace smiled and kissed him again before leaving.

"See you in a few hours," she said, walking out the door with each child in her arm.

Kevin returned to the table. Aaren and Emma both looked up at him.

"So where did you say that Jace was taking the twins off to again?" Aaren asked.

"Lizzy. She said that the witch wanted to hang out with them," said Kevin.

Aaren looked confused.

"What?" asked Kevin.

"Lizzy left campus to go to a movie with her friends. I saw her leave herself," Aaren told him.

"So then what would Jace want with...Oh, no," Kevin trailed off.

"XANA," Aaren and Emma said in unison, staring at Kevin.

They all ran out the door.

"I can't believe I kissed a clone," Kevin muttered.

Aaren rolled his eyes and pulled his phone out of his pocket, dialing Annie's number.

"Annie. We've got a problem."

…

Jace heard foot steps approaching and looked up to see the cage door being opened. Her eyes widened when she saw Willow and Audrey being thrown to the floor in front of her. They looked up at her with watery eyes.

"Why, Jace?" they asked, their voices breaking.

"No, no! Willow, Audrey. That lady wasn't me. She's just pretending to be me! She's a clone sent to bring you here by a very bad person. Girls, you've got to believe me!" Jace told them.

They stared up at her for a few moments before running up to her and hugging her legs. They cried hard onto her and she shushed them, letting them stain her jeans with their tears.

"Audrey. Can you get me that bar over there?" she asked her little sister.

Audrey looked up and nodded. She picked it up and managed to put it in her elder sister's hand. Minutes later, Jace was free from her imprisonment and hugged the two toddlers closely.

"Oh, God. We need to get out of here," she said, looking around.

Jace walked up to the entrance and kicked the cage door but it didn't budge. She kicked it again. Nothing happened except for some dust flying into the air. Willow sneezed. Jace groaned. It was locked from the outside and she was pretty sure she needed a key to open it. She slumped on the side of the cage and placed her head in her hands.

"This is bad," she whispered.

Audrey and Willow walked up to her, sitting down by her side. She each grabbed one of her hands and she looked at the both of them. She held their hands tightly before hugging them close to her.

"Let's just hope that Kevin and those guys can find a way to get us out of here."

…

A/N: Now everyone is beginning to see why the Della Robbia twins were brought into the story. See? I'm working it out. To hell with the rubric but in order to see the newest chapter you must...

VOTE AND REVIEW...OR I WILL FIND YOU!


	35. Strangers and Saviors

A/N: There was a mistake that I made that one of you guys pointed out. Kadic goes all the way to high school so Caleb and Kevin and the rest of them are not gonna leave. Let's just say that they're afraid that being upper-graders will tear them apart and all that stuff.

...

Chapter 34

Kevin, Aaren and Emma arrived at the factory. They slid down the rope at the entrance and jumped towards the elevator. They pressed the big, red button and descended to the computer room. Annie was there waiting.

"Where are Caleb and Jasper?" asked Emma.

"I already materialized them onto Lyoko. The activated tower is in the Polar Region. They're heading towards it right now. Go down and I'll start the transfer process," she told them.

The two Sterns nodded and headed towards the scanner room. They noticed that Aaren hadn't moved. Kevin turned back.

"Aaren,are you coming or not?" he asked.

The young Della Robbia shook his blonde head.

"No. I'm gonna go look for Willow and Audrey. If I find them, I'll probably find Jace," he told him.

Kevin nodded and went down the ladder to the scanner room. He saw Emma standing there, waiting for the process to begin.

Annie looked at Aaren as he opened the elevator door.

"Aaren."

He looked back at her with a questioning gaze.

"I can probably track Jace's phone. I'll help guide you toward it when you get to the forest. I can start right after I virtualize Kevin and Emma," she told him.

He nodded and pressed the big button on the elevator wall.

"Thanks," he said right before the door closed.

Aaren waited as the elevator moved towards ground level. He sighed and bit his lip. He really hoped that his sisters would be okay.

…

Jace, Willow and Audrey were all curled up together on one side of the cage when they heard a rustling sound. Jace looked up. There was no one there.

_That's odd,_ she thought.

She heard another rustling sound and the twins looked up, hearing it, too.

"What's that?" asked Willow.

Jace motioned for her to quiet down and strained to hear. _Pit, pat, pit, pat, pit, pat_. Foot steps. Someone was coming. Jace steeled herself for whoever was heading in their direction, whether it be XANA or one of her friends. She moved so that her body was between her sisters and the door, ready to protect them no matter what the cost. All of a sudden, a figure shot out of the bushes and straight at the cage. Jace froze when the person touched the bars of the cage and her eyes widened when she saw who it was.

The woman wasn't someone she recognized but she seemed harmless, even fragile. She had long, blood-red hair with dark eyes and very pale skin. Her hair was wavy and reached to her waist. She was panting and looked tired but what stuck out most was her stomach. Quite literally. The woman was, at most, three months pregnant. It wasn't prominent, but Jace saw the tiny bump along her abdomen. Jace ran to her and grabbed the bars of the cage.

"Miss, are you alright? What's wrong?" she asked, less concerned for her own freedom than the pregnant woman's welfare.

The lady look down at her and saw where she was.

"Come sei arrivato qui?" the lady asked.

Jace recognized the language she spoke to be Italian. She wasn't fluent in it but she had learned some from listening to her father talking on the phone with Italian clients.

"Rubato. Portato via," she replied, trying to think of words that would describe her predicament.

The lady looked at the two little ones behind her.

"Da chi?" she asked.

Jace became worried about the woman. She looked strained, tired, sick. She racked her brain for an answer.

"Molto uomini cattivi non. Per favore aprire le porta," she begged.

The woman nodded and pulled on the heavy lock that held the door shut. Once she was free, Jace turned and took her younger sisters in her arms. Then she faced the woman who had just helped her.

"Grazie," she thanked her.

The woman looked at her strangely.

"Vi è qualcosa che non mi stai dicendo?" she asked, eyes narrowed.

Jace looked at her blankly then looked away.

"Tu non mi avrebbe creduto," she answered.

The lady stared at her then at the cage. She looked like she suddenly realized something and her eyes widened as she looked at Jace.

"XANA."

Jace's blinked once at the woman. _That_ was a word she understood perfectly.

…

"Move north, her phone's in that direction," said Annie.

"Thanks," Aaren said and pressed the END button on his phone.

He headed north, looking for his sister. His eyes looked up and he came to a halt. There was Jace but something was off. Her face held no emotion, her fists were clenched. Aaren's eyes narrowed. This had to be the clone.

"Where's my sister?" he asked.

The Jace clone didn't answer, only positioned herself to fight, legs apart, fists raised. Aaren sighed and steeled himself, taking up a similar position. The clone lunged at him, trying to punch his face. He blocked her fist and kicked her in the knee, causing her to stagger. Aaren grabbed the clone's face and brought his knee up hard. It collided with her head with a loud _smack_. The clone flew backwards and hit the ground. After a moment, she got to her feet shakily. Aaren smirked.

"Tch. You should know better than to fight against me as my sister. She and I are practically equal when it comes to fighting," he told the clone.

The clone stared at him blankly once before closing it's eyes and facing upwards. It's entire body started to flicker and shift until it took the form of Kevin Stern. The clone's now-black eyes stared at him angrily.

"Oh, no. Don't change into _him_. Crap, this is a prob- Ugh!" he grunted as he dodged a kick from Kevin.

The clone moved fast and managed to land a couple of punches on him. It followed up with a kick to the chest. Aaren flew back and hit the ground hard. He groaned, clutching his chest. The clone approached him and he looked up. Aaren's eyes narrowed at the fake Kevin's face. He spat on the clone's foot. He tried to kick Aaren but the blonde rolled over and did a backward tumble to get to his feet. Now vertical, Aaren stared at the clone with venom.

He smirked.

"You may look like Kevin. But that doesn't mean you can fight as good as he can. Let's go, XANA. Hit me with your best shot," he spat out.

The clone seemed to take it to the heart (so to speak) and raised his hand at him. Electricity shot out of his hand and moved straight to Aaren so quickly that he barely saw it coming. The bolt of electricity hit him hard, causing him to flying into one of the trees. He let out a loud grunt as he hit the trunk of the tree, a loud _snap_ coming from his jaw. After a moment, he slumped forward and hit the ground, unconscious. The clone turned away from the body and slowly slipped away into nothing but smoke.

It had fulfilled its mission.

…

Annie stared at the screen in confusion. The tower had de-activated itself? How was that even possible?

"Annie. The pulsations are gone. Has XANA called off his attack?" asked Jasper.

The pinkette blinked once before answering.

"I think so. The tower de-activated all on its own. You guys can all come back to Earth then we'll all check up on Aaren so see how the search for Jace and the twins went," she said.

All four teens nodded and turned to each other.

"Quick devirtualization and we're out of here," said Caleb raising a hand to Kevin.

The young Stern nodded as his spikes suddenly released themselves.

…

Jace, Willow and Audrey were currently following the woman who had freed them. She had not said her name, only that she knew that something was incredibly wrong and had taken off. Jace and her sisters saw no other option but to follow her. They ran South, she believed. She was about to ask what this was all about when the woman stopped and looked at something a few feet away from her. Jace stopped beside her and her eyes widened at what she saw.

"NO! NO! NO!" she shrieked, abandoning her sisters to kneel beside the body of her brother.

Aaren's jaw was sticking out in a wrong way and there was blood on his chest. Tears came to her eyes and she covered her mouth in despair. The woman knelt next to her and cautiously placed her fingers on his neck and wrists, feeling for a pulse.

"Is Aaren alright?" asked Willow.

"Is he sleeping?" asked Audrey.

The red-haired woman let out a sigh of relief.

"Egli è vivo," she told Jace.

The young teen breathed in a shaky breath and wrapped her arms around her unconscious brother, thanking God that he was alive. A ringing sound came from the pocket of Aaren's polo and Jace reached inside to pull out his phone. She recognized Annie's phone number and pressed SEND.

"H-hello?" she asked shakily.

"Jace! Thank God, you're alright. Where's Aaren?" asked Annie.

The young girl looked down at the body in front of her.

"H-he's beaten up real b-bad, Annie. Is there anyway y-you could launch a R-return to the Past, or s-something?" she asked, stumbling over her words.

"I'll do it," she answered, hanging up.

The woman looked at her strangely.

"Thank you for your help," said Jace.

The woman gave her a confused look. Jace stared at her then looked at her brother.

"I'm just sorry that you won't remember any of this," she said as she was engulfed in white light.

…

A/N: OKAY! Done with this chapter. Oh, before I forget!

Translation:

Woman: How did you get here?

Jace: Stolen. Taken away.

Woman: By who?

Jace: Very bad man. Please open the door.

Jace: Thank you.

Woman: Is there something you're not telling me?

Jace: You would not believe me.

…

Okay...please review! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!


	36. Pain, Love and Lies

A/N: Hey, guys! I know some of you readers have been wondering about when Jin is going to come into the story more but he'll be playing some major parts after the next few chapters so just hang tight and read! On another note, I've recently become obsessed with the song 'Freak the Freak Out' from Victorious. It's a really nice song. ^_^ Don't forget to review!

…

Chapter 35

Dec. 24th

Jace watched from the bench while the twins jumped all over Kevin. Many guys were looking at him strangely, after all, he _was_ a Stern, the star player of Kadic's soccer team and probably the most wanted male in the the school...and he was playing with _children_? That certainly rose a few eyebrows. Aaren smiled at them before walking over and sitting next to Jace. He looked over at his sister.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Jace sighed and turned to look at him.

"I should be asked _you_ that question," she told him.

Aaren chuckled.

"I'm fine. It's a good thing you found me, though. I would have bled to death and a Return to the Past wouldn't be able to fix anything. Just because the super computer has power doesn't mean it can always work miracles," he said.

Jace nodded and looked forward, her eyes focusing on her twin sisters.

"I'm glad."

"About what?" he asked.

"That they can't remember a thing. Aaren, the _look_ on their faces...it was almost to much to bear. They were so afraid..." she trailed off.

The blonde nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, they're fine, now," he said.

"But what happens if he tries it again?" she challenged.

"He won't!" said Aaren.

Jace stared at his face before turning away.

"Aaren, you didn't see the way they looked...the way _you_ looked."

"Aw, Jace. Don't go thro-"

"I watched you nearly die, Aaren. Do you know how that makes me feel? Now, just the _thought _of you..." she breathed in a shaky sigh.

Aaren nodded and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"You know me, Jace. I always scrape by in the end," he told her.

She nodded but turned away, unable to voice the words she wanted so badly for him to realize.

_But one day...you might not be able to._

Dec. 25th

Christmas Dance

The Code Breakers were standing by the stage, waiting for Pete to call them onto the stage. Some other kids were singing 'Oh Holy Night' and Kevin felt like sleeping until someone tapped his shoulder. He looked back and saw Jacob and some other boy, Wyatt McCarthy – another American. Kevin raised an eye.

"What?" he asked.

Jacob nudged Wyatt to talk and Wyatt did the same to Jacob.

"You tell him. You're doing it!" Jacob whispered sharply.

"You do it! You're the one who dared me," Wyatt retorted.

"Mind telling us what's going on?" asked Aaren, walking up to them.

Jacob sighed.

"Wyatt and I lost a bet and now we have to sing onstage or I'm paying Patrick Cruz 100 Euros. Wyatt and I didn't want to just get up there and sing by ourselves like idiots so we were wondering-"

"If you guys could sing with us," Kevin finished.

Jacob nodded. Kevin looked at the rest, as if asking for permission.

"I vote 'yes'," said Emma.

Annie nodded, agreeing with her.

"Besides, for this song, we could use all the male voices we can get," said the pinkette.

They all agreed to that. Kevin nodded and looked at Jacob.

"Can you sing?" he asked.

"Come on, Stern. You've heard me on karaoke night," he told Kevin.

The black-haired boy rolled his eyes.

"Just don't screw up," he told him, turning back to his brooding as he leaned against the side of the stage, waiting for the band to finish their sleep-worthy song.

Finally they were done and Pete called them up next.

"Hey, guys. You ready?" he asked.

The Code Breakers nodded.

"Kadic! Give it up for your very own CODE BREAKERS!" Pete shouted, announcing them.

Aaren ran up to Kevin and dumped a Christmas hat on his head. Kevin glared at him.

"Come on, Kev! Get into the Christmas spirit! Let's go!" he cheered and got on stage along with the rest of them.

Their instruments were set up already. At the dance, there weren't that many people, just a few hundred or so students so they weren't playing for a big crowd. Either way, Aaren wanted to play it right so he signaled for Annie to begin. The pinkette nodded and began playing the intro to the Christmas song they would be singing on her keyboard. Aaren bobbed his head and hummed the intro then he began to sing.

"_Merry Christmas and happy holidays_," he sang out softly

Kevin, Caleb, Wyatt and Jacob started up. The rest of the band played the rest of the instruments, Emma playing drums, Jace playing guitar and Caleb playing bass.

"_Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays_," they sang.

Kevin went up to the mic, pushed it closer to his mouth and sang.

"_We've been waiting all year for this night  
And the snow is glistening on the trees outside  
And all the stockings are hung by the fire side  
__Waiting for Santa to arrive_

_And all the love will show_

_Cause everybody knows_

_It's Christmas time and_

_All the kids will see_

_The gifts under the tree_

_It's the best time of year for the family_," he sang out.

He backed up and lined up with Jacob, Wyatt, Caleb and Aaren. Together they sang, clapping they're hands to the music the band was making.

"_It's a wonderful feeling_

_Feel the love in the room from the floor to the ceiling_

_It's that time of year_

_Christmas time is here_

_And with the blessings from above_

_God sends you his love_

_And everybody's okay_

_Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays_

_Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas_

_Happy Holidays_," they sang together.

They kept singing (Aaren singing Justin's part, Kevin singing JC's part), doing various dance moves to match the songs. Jacob, Caleb and Wyatt sang back-up and everyone was dancing along. Finally, Kevin sang out the last verse.

"_No matter what your holiday  
It's a time to celebrate  
And put your worries aside."_

"_Worries aside_," sang Jacob, Wyatt and Caleb._  
_"_And open up your mind._"

"_Open up your mind_," they backed-up.

Kevin smiled and made his voice as loud as possible._  
_"_See the world right by your side  
It's Christmastime_," he sang and did a backflip off of the stage, landing in the crowds arms.

He still sang along to the ending, the wireless mic in his hand as he crowd-surfed.

"_Sing it everybody!_" he shouted.

The crowd sang alone with the band; everyone was dancing and having a good time. Finally the song came to and end and Kevin returned to the stage. They all took a bow and laughed as they got off the stage.

…

Jace stared around at the empty courtyard and sighed to herself quietly. It was dark, around 8 pm, and she was sitting on a bench directly under one of the trees in the school courtyard.

"What's wrong?" came a voice behind her.

She turned around to see Kevin approaching her. He sat down next her and grabbed her hand. She looked up at him.

"Nothing," she said.

The dark-haired boy looked at her, grabbing her chin and pulling her face up. He stared into her eyes, deep in thought.

"Jace, I'm serious. You seem so...out of it today. Don't think I don't see it," he told her.

She stared back at him and sighed, turning away.

"It's nothing, Kevin," she repeated.

Kevin's eyes narrowed at her.

"Don't lie to me, Jace. Tell me what's bugging you," he said.

Suddenly, she stood up, pulling her hand out of his, facing him full-on.

"You want to know what's wrong? _This_. This is _all_ wrong!" she shouted at him.

Kevin got to his feet.

"Jace, you're not making any sense."

"Lyoko! XANA! That stupid super computer! It's all wrong! Because of it, so many people will suffer! Because of it, there is absolutely _no_ chance of the world being safe!" she yelled at him.

Kevin grabbed her shoulders.

"Jace. Calm do-"

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! You didn't see him!" she screamed.

Kevin gave her a confused look.

"See who?" he asked.

"Aaren! Your best friend! You're supposed to protect him, Kevin! You're supposed to make sure he doesn't get hurt or injured or broken! That's your duty as a best friend! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HIM AND YOU DIDN'T!"

Kevin gave her a worried look and tightened his hold on her shoulders.

"Jace, please. You're screaming now and it's not good for you to-"

"I can't do this," she said suddenly.

"What?" he asked, surprised by the sudden change in her tone.

"I can't do this," she repeated, looking up at him.

Kevin looked confused.

"Can't do what, Jace?"

She sniffed and stared at face before pulling his hands off of her shoulders and backing away slightly.

"Us, Kevin. I can't do _us_."

The boy froze and stared at the girl before, his brain unable to comprehend her words. Kevin blinked once, twice.

"A-are you breaking up with me?" he asked quietly.

Jace nodded and sniffed again. Kevin walked up to her and brought his hands up to her face, cradling it gently.

"There's something else you're not telling me," he said somberly.

Jace nodded and looked down, Kevin's hands still on the sides of her face.

"I'm leaving, Kevin. I got a scholarship to another boarding school in Paris," she told him.

Kevin's face scrunched up.

"You can afford to go to Kadic for ten lifetimes! Why are you going away to Paris?" he asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

Jace pulled his hands away and placed her own hands on his face, brushing his bangs away from his face and looked at him.

"To get away from here, Kevin. I don't want to be here. As much as I love all of you, as much as I love Kadic, I don't want to stay _here_...fighting to live when I'll just be living to fight. I need to _leave, _Kevin. Please understand that," she requested.

He stared down at the ground and took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

"When will you be leaving?" he asked.

"Around 10 pm tonight. I told Gramps and my parents know about it," she told him.

"Does Aaren know?" he asked.

Jace shook her head.

"I'll tell him over the phone, when I get there."

Kevin stared at her.

"So you were just going to leave without saying goodbye to any of us?" he asked.

Jace nodded.

"It would've made the break a lot easier. I'm just sorry that you had to find me tonight, Kevin. I know that it's Christmas and it's supposed to be a time for love and happiness and people getting together...but, for me, it's a time of change. I'm sorry, Kevin," she said, turning to leave.

Kevin grabbed her arm.

"Jace, please! I'm sorry! Whatever I did or didn't do, I'm sorry for it! Just don't leave! I need you here! We _all _ need you here!" he begged.

Jace placed her hand on his and gently removed it from her arm. She walked up to him and stood on the tips of her toes to kiss him softly. After a few seconds, she pulled away and looked at him.

"No, you don't. You said it yourself Kevin, 'Seven is more than enough to fight off XANA.' Me leaving won't affect anything here. Goodbye, Kev. Merry Christmas," she muttered as she turned and left.

This time, Kevin did not stop her. He stared after her as she ran into the school, probably to get her bags and leave. He just stood there, gritting his teeth. Kevin looked up and saw something small, red and green.

Mistletoe. She had kissed him under the misteltoe.

He closed his eyes shut and bit his lip but couldn't hold it back. For the first time in a long, long time, tears flowed from his eyes as he sat down on the bench and buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking as tears rolled down his face. This was the first time he had cried in many years.

…

Jace stood in front of Kadic Academy, two suitcases occupying both of her hands. Finally, a black car pulled up and a man stepped out. He had short, brown hair and was wearing a white shirt and black pants.

"Did you do what I told you to do?" he asked her.

Jace nodded.

"Yeah. I broke up with him," she said.

"And he believed everything you said?" he asked seriously.

"I'm an excellent actress. Now, as we agreed. Are you sure that _you_ hold up your part of the deal?" she asked, narrowly her swollen eyes.

The man nodded at her.

"Your family will be safe as long as I live," he told her, turning to open the back door for her.

Jace looked inside to see the same woman who had found her in the woods. Jace looked up at the man.

"The virus. It has been implanted?" she asked him.

He nodded.

"Your kiss was long enough for Katerina to transfer the bug into his central nervous system," he said, motioning towards the woman.

Jace looked at her; Katerina sighed and looked away, brushing a lock of red hair behind her ear. She didn't look proud of what she did. The young teen turned her gaze over to the man in front of her as she got into the car, pulling in her suitcases. She glared up at him.

"I hate that I have to help you, XANA. But if it'll save his life, I'm willing to do whatever you need me to do," said Jace, a frown on her face.

The man grinned and Jace watched as his pupils glitched once before morphing into the Eye of XANA.

…

A/N: And that is by far, the longest chapter I've written. Over 2,400 words, damn.

Like the new twist? Hate it? Well, review and you'll get to know more! So please review!


	37. Linked

A/N: Thanks to EVERYONE for getting me to _**200**_ REVIEWS! Thanks to Tsunamix for being my 200th reviewer! As I've said before, go check out his story, Code Lyoko: Project Scipio – the inspiration for the story I'm writing right now! ^_^

...

Chapter 36

"So she just left?" Aaren asked incredulously.

"Didn't you try to stop her?" asked Emma.

Kevin nearly growled at them.

"Yes to both your questions but I wasn't going to tie her to a freaking pole or anything like that!" he retorted.

Annie sighed.

"Guys, stop it. Kevin tried his best. We all know how Jace can be when she sets her mind to something, she can't be stopped," she told the rest of them.

Aaren grumbled and slumped into his seat. At that moment, Lizzy walked up to their group.

"So where's Jace? Haven't seen her since the dance. What? Did she decide that she didn't want to hang around you losers and leave to find some other people to hang with?" she asked snidely.

"Yes," Kevin muttered, getting up and leaving.

Lizzy smirked as he left.

"I'm taking it that he's not taking her departure very well," she said to Aaren.

"What do _you_ think, Liz?" her brother retorted.

"I think that she made the right decision in dumping that loser. Seriously, that guy's, like, a freaking ice cube and a total moron when it comes to romance," she told them as she left.

"Go to hell, Liz!" Aaren called after her.

She didn't look back, choosing instead to show the middle finger over her shoulder. Aaren glared at her departing figure.

"I swear. I'm gonna kill her one of these days," he told his friends.

"I'll help you. Accessory to murder," muttered Emma.

Annie shook her head and pulled out her laptop. She clicked a few buttons and instantly her face brightened.

"Well, even though Jace being gone is a total slap to the face, on the bright side, we might not need to fight XANA anymore," said the pinkette.

The whole group looked up at her.

"Are you serious?" they all asked in unison.

She nodded.

"I finished Jasper's program which will delete the virus in him. That way, we can shut down the super computer without hurting Jasper," she told them.

"Are you sure that it will work?" asked Jasper.

Annie nodded.

"Positive. Call Kevin and tell him to meet us at the factory. I don't want him to miss this," she told Aaren.

The blonde nodded and pulled out his cell phone.

"Too bad Mina couldn't be here," he said, dialing Kevin's cell.

"And Jace," muttered Emma.

Caleb nodded while Jasper and Annie talked about the program and how it worked.

…

"Alright Jasper, get into the scanner and I will run the program," said Annie.

The red head nodded and got into the first scanner. An image of Jasper's body came onto the screen as Annie launched the anti-virus program.

"So he just goes in and comes out virus-free?" asked Aaren.

Annie nodded as she clicked several buttons at a very fast rate.

"Cool," he said.

Jasper closed his eyes as he felt air whooshing up through the vents at the bottom of the scanner and felt the halo that was used to scan him, move up and down the scanner, deleting the virus. When it was done, the doors opened and Jasper came out, feeling better than normal. It was like a burden had been lifted off of his shoulders. The whole gang ran down to meet him.

"So how do you feel?" asked Annie.

"Good. I feel good," he answered.

"So it's time to shut down the super computer?" asked Caleb.

Annie nodded and they all shuffled down to the room that held the core of the super computer. They all stood to one side, staring at the big heap of metal.

"Time to say 'goodbye', XANA. This time, for real," said Annie as she pulled the the switch.

All eyes went to Jasper but he just stood there, smiling. They were all about to start cheering when Kevin let out an agonized bellow of pain. They all turned to him as he fell to the ground, clutching his chest.

"Ahh! It hurts! Ugh! I can't...breathe..." he trailed off, his eyes beginning to roll backwards.

"Turn it back on!" screamed Emma and Annie switched the super computer back on.

They all rushed to Kevin's side as he laid on the floor, twitching every once in a while.

"What happened?" asked Annie.

Caleb looked at his face before turning to them.

"Call an ambulance! NOW! We need to bring him out of here! Away from the factory," he told them, throwing Kevin's arm around his shoulder. Jasper moved to help him as Aaren called an ambulance.

"Tell them to meet us at the back of Kadic. I think we can get there in time so that they don't see us at the factory," said Caleb, running off with Jasper and Kevin.

The rest of them ran after them. Aaren called the hospital as they ran through the sewers and up the ladder.

"Hello," came a woman's voice.

"I need an ambulance at the back of Kadic Academy," he told the woman as they neared the school.

"Okay, sir. What is the nature of your emergency?" asked the woman.

Aaren looked up at Caleb.

"Hey, Caleb. What happened to Kevin?" he asked.

Caleb glanced back at him.

"Tell them that he just had a heart attack."

…

Katerina laid Jace down on the bed and checked her vital signs. They were fine and the woman saw Jace's eyes flutter open, signaling that she was coming to. The young girl looked around and tried to rise but the pain in her chest prevented her from that. She clutched at her chest.

"What the hell was that?" she asked, looking around the room.

It was small, white and clean but it wasn't small enough to make her claustrophobic. It looked like a hospital room but more...homey. Jace stared at Katerina. The woman sighed and adjusted the I.V. Tube in her arm.

"You had a heart attack," she replied in a heavy Italian accent.

"You speak English," realized Jace.

"Yes, but I prefer to speak in my native tongue. However, since you are not fluent in Italian, I shall speak in English when speaking with you," she told her.

Jace nodded.

"I had a heart attack? Why?" she asked.

"Those children must have tried to shut down the super computer. _Idiots_. The virus that XANA implanted in both you and that boy, Kevin, keeps you both linked to him. It keeps your hearts beating evenly but when XANA dies, an artery in your heart becomes inactive, cutting off oxygen and sending you into a heart attack. When XANA was brought back to life, the artery opened again and stopped the attack. However, I just want to make sure that you were alright, so I set these up to check your heart rate and the conditions of your arteries. The only flaw in XANA's virus is that it works both ways. If either you or Kevin dies, all of you die," Katerina told her in a serious tone.

Jace nodded and pulled herself out of the bed.

"Thanks but I'll be fine. I need to do what I came here to do anyway," she told Katerina.

The red-haired woman nodded.

"I shall begin by teaching you everything I know. Then, we will carry out XANA's orders," she told Jace.

The girl nodded and stood on her feet, leaning slightly against the desk that was placed right next to the bed. Katerina moved to help her but Jace declined.

"I can do it," she said, straightening up and breathing deeply.

The woman gave her a worried look but Jace just gritted her teeth reached for the gauntlet on the desk. She secured it around her arm and hand. The gauntlet was dark purple and black mixed together. It was long and metallic, like a glove but with the fingertips cut off and the part that covered the underside of her arm and her palms were missing. She made sure it was on correctly then started walking across the room. She opened the door and looked down to see a long line of stairs going down to the basement. Jace looked over her shoulder at Katerina, her face hardened.

"You coming?"

…

Kevin squeezed his eyes shut before opening them and looking around.

"Oh, thank God, you're alright!" came a worried voice.

The boy looked to his right and was instantly pulled into a tight embrace by his mother, Yumi. Kevin grunted because her touch was causing him pain. Yumi seemed to realize this and pulled away from her son.

"Sorry, Kevin. I was just so worried about you!" she told him.

The boy looked up at his mother. She looked like she had been crying. He tilted his head and saw his dad and siblings walking into the room, followed by his friends. Ulrich walked up to his son and patted his shoulder.

"How are you doing, Kev?" he asked, taking a seat.

"I'm fine. Just a little pain. What happened?" he asked, turning towards Annie and the rest of his friends.

"Doctors said that you had a heart attack. One of your arteries just stopped working and it cut off your oxygen supply. That's why you felt the pain and why you couldn't breathe," said the pinkette.

"But you're all better, now," said the doctor as he walked into the room.

He was tall, had short, brown hair and was wearing a lab coat. The kids parted so that he could walk through.

"I just want to do a quick examination to see if there are any side-effects. His heart seemed to just start working again and it seems healthy so we might just let him out in a day or two but I'd like to see for myself if he is, indeed, ready. May I ask you all to leave the room?" he asked.

They all nodded and left. Yumi kissed his forehead once before leaving the room. The doctor smiled at her as she left. He closed the door after her before turning around, locking it. Kevin looked up at the doctor with narrowed eyes. The doctor grinned and walked up to him.

"So you now know what will happen if you try to shut me down," said the doctor, his eyes glitching.

Kevin glared at him.

"How did you plant a virus in me? I never went anywhere near you. Not in the real world and not on Lyoko," he said.

XANA chuckled.

"But you did come into contact with a Miss Jasmine Della Robbia," he replied, looking down at the chart in his hands.

Kevin's eyes widened.

"How could she transfer a virus into me?" he asked.

"When she kissed you," said XANA, looking up at Kevin. "You opened your mouth to her and she used that opportunity to slip a virus-filled micro-chip into your body which grabbed onto the nearest blood cell and infected it, proceeding to infect other blood cells until your entire body was filled with the virus."

The dark-haired boy stared at XANA in disgust. Then he thought of something. He turned to the desk next to his bed and slammed his hand into it. Pain raked through his palm but he managed to turn to the XANA-host and see him clutch his hand in pain. Kevin pulled his hand to his chest.

"Apparently, it works both ways," he answered.

XANA smirked at him.

"Don't be getting any ideas, boy. Killing or injuring yourself may affect me as well but I wouldn't try anything if I were you," he said.

"And why not?" asked Kevin.

The doctor chuckled and got to his feet, staring down at Kevin. He leaned towards him until their faces were level.

"Go ahead. Kill yourself, hurt yourself. Because by hurting yourself, you are hurting _her_, too," he told him, turning to leave.

"Hurting who?" Kevin asked.

XANA turned back to him.

"Did you think I was stupid not to find a way to keep you and your friends under my control? You hurt yourself, you hurt me. But you are also hurting the girl you love, Miss Della Robbia."

…

A/N: Is it me or have I been writing longer chapters lately? Oh, well! Review if you want to know what happens next! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!


	38. All Under Control

A/N: Thanks to all of you who reviewed! I love them and I'm glad that you guys liked the latest chapter! Here's another one!

Chapter 37

"Leave it up to XANA to find a way to stop us from shutting down the super computer," said Caleb.

"And he involved Jace, too. I wonder if she knows," said Aaren.

"I'd guess yes. She transferred the virus onto me, anyway," said Kevin.

Emma frowned.

"That doesn't sound like Jace. She wouldn't do something like that. _Especially_, for XANA," she said.

Annie and Jasper agreed.

"Maybe she's under XANA's control," suggested Jasper.

"Or being black-mailed," added Annie.

Emma nodded.

"All I know is that Jace isn't _like_ that. She's loyal to her friends. She'd never put anything else above them," she told her brother.

Kevin thought hard.

"I guess, but that was the _real_ Jace. She wasn't pretending either. Even if she _was_ black-mailed, she was serious when she said that she didn't want any of it. Maybe, she's helping XANA for some other reason," he told them.

"I agree with Kevin. Jace isn't one to do something against her will. I think that maybe she's doing this willingly," said Aaren.

"Maybe, but there _has _to be another reason behind it," argued Emma.

"I'm going to have to agree with that," said Annie.

"Me, too," said Caleb.

"Maybe...but for now, she's dangerous. If she has the ability to transfer a virus into Kevin then she might be capable of harm," said Aaren, his face held no trace of foolishness or any want to crack a joke.

"So what do we do if we _do_ see her?" asked Emma.

Kevin and Aaren looked at each other, silently asking permission from the other to proceed with the verdict. Kevin, as Jace's boyfriend (erm, _ex_) and Aaren as her brother.

"If we see, we do everything in our power to bring her to the factory for interrogation. As much as I hate to say it...we may have to do some physical harm to get answers out of her," said Aaren, his eyebrows pulled tightly together.

"But won't hurting her hurt Kevin, as well?" asked Emma.

"I can take whatever pain Aaren throws at her. If there's any chance to find Jace and find out what she's doing for XANA, I'm willing to sacrifice a little pain to get some answers," Kevin said.

Caleb sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"So we'll need a plan to find her and bring her to the factory for an interrogation," he said.

Annie nodded.

"So our first priority is to find out what XANA wants and how it relates to Jace's involvement."

…

Wandering the hospital halls was a young boy with black hair, Jin Stern. Ulrich and Yumi had gone off to talk to the doctors about Kevin and when he could be let out so Jin decided to walk around to kill some time. He felt kind of useless there, standing around and doing nothing. Kevin was always closer to Emma so Jin saw no need to be there, ever the odd one out. He didn't really care about where he was going, just that he wanted to be alone at the moment. He didn't notice that the number of people was starting to decrease until he was in an empty hallway.

Jin rounded a corner and bumped into someone. That someone both knocked him down and was knocked down by him. He got to his feet and moved to help the girl he had slammed into. His eyes widened when he recognized her face.

"Jace! I thought you left for Paris!" he said in a surprised tone, pulling her up to her feet.

The teen girl stared at the boy in front of her. Jin was the same height as her so she saw eye-to-eye with him. Jace stared at him. Unfortunately, things had gone according to XANA's plans and now she was to fulfill his orders. Jace was glad she was such a great actress, otherwise, she'd have to beat the hell out of him before he'd listen to her. She put on a fake smile and giggled.

"Hey, Jin. Uh, yeah. I left but school doesn't start until January so I decided to come back and give my last goodbyes," she said.

Jin smiled.

"So you're going to see Kevin? He's in the hospital, y'know. He had a heart attack but the doctors said that he's all better now. I'll bet that he'd like to see you, right now," said the boy.

Jace stared at him before grinning.

"Actually, I came here to see you," she said in a soft tone, brushing back a lock of hair from his face.

Jin froze at her touch, not knowing what to do. After all, Jace _was _his brother's ex-girlfriend. She was taboo, off-limits. But Jin had always harbored a small crush on her, making this situation very awkward for him.

"Uh, for what?" he asked, trying to get the thoughts of her actually liking him out of his brain.

She probably just wanted him to tell the gang something for her. Jace grinned and pulled on his collar, bringing him into the nearest room – which happened to be empty – and pushed him up against the door, her hand pressed hard against his collarbone. Jin became frigid as he saw the glint in her eyes change from sweet to hostile. Jin took in her appearance. She wasn't wearing her normal jean-and-shirt combo. She seemed a lot more...hot. She was wearing purple shorts with a black hoodie that clung to her skin and knee-high boots, making her slightly taller than him. He liked the way she looked. It was a nice change that his twelve-year-old body greatly appreciated.

_'Oh, crap! Bad brain! She is TWO YEARS older than you, WAY out of your league and she is KEVIN'S EX-GIRLFRIEND!' _he screamed in his brain.

He looked down at the gauntlet on her arm.

"Er, nice merchandise," he said, trying to ease the tension and trying to stop any 'bad' thoughts from entering his brain.

_'She's my brother's ex. She's my brother's ex'_, was what he kept repeating in his mind.

"Thanks. Now, let's cut to the chase. I need you to do something for me and I don't want you blabbing your mouth to your siblings or any of Kevin's friends," she told him, raising her hand to his cheek.

Jin thought it was strange that she was demanding such a thing while acting all, well, hot. It was like she was seducing him or something.

"Jace, I don't think it would be right. I mean, I won't be able to get you out of my head and then they're gonna notice that something is going on and then they'll start asking questions...I'm not that good at keeping secrets," he told her in a nervous tone.

Jace grinned and Jin noticed a slight crackling sound coming from her gauntlet. His eyes focused on the skinny stream of electricity leaking out from the object.

"Er, Jace. You're thing is doing something weird," he said worriedly.

"It's supposed to do that," she said.

Jin looked like he was going to scream when a tiny line of electricity leaked out of her gauntlet and into his ear, going up to his brain.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm going to give your brain a little jolt. Mainly in the parts of it where you store memories and where your ability to obey lies. So you are going to listen to me. Understand?" she asked.

A jolt of electricity hit one side of his brain and Jin felt an overwhelming urge to listen to her. An overwhelming urge to do whatever she said.

"Yes," he replied, his voice losing all emotion like some sort of zombie.

"Good. You are going to go to find Draco Trevelyan, the Civics teacher, and you are going to ask him for a red binder containing a bunch of codes and encryptions about a computer virus named XANA. You are going to tell him that Katerina Volta sent you. Understand?" she demanded.

"Yes."

"If you manage to obtain it, you will look find me inside of Kadic during the New Year's Day fireworks in Room F108. If you don't, come find me anyway. Do you understand me?" she asked.

Jin nodded as another wave of electricity went through to his brain. Jace looked at his eyes, searching for comprehension and found it.

"And you are going to forget all about this. You are not going to remember that I was here, that you saw me. All you will remember are my orders. Understand?" she asked, gently this time.

Jin nodded.

"I understand," he said.

Jace smiled and pulled her hand away.

"I'm sorry for using you, Jin. But you were the only one I could turn to," she said and swung her fist at him.

…

"Jin! Jin! Jin!"

Said boy jerked upwards with a start. He came face-to-face with his mother, Yumi. He blinked once before rubbing the back of his head. It hurt like hell but he couldn't remember what had caused it. Yumi sat next to him and Jin ran a hand through his hair.

"What happened?" he asked, looking around.

He realized that he was currently sitting on one of the seats in the hospital waiting room. Yumi smiled at him.

"Your father and I left to find out when Kevin could be released. Then I came back here and found you passed out on the seat. I just wanted to wake you up because we're leaving. It's getting dark," she said.

Jin nodded and got to his feet. Yumi stood up, too.

"I'll just go and call your dad and Emma and see if Kevin's other friends need a ride home," she said.

Jin nodded and watched her leave. He rubbed the back of his head. It still hurt a little but not so much now. He wondered what had caused it. Then there was that nagging feeling. He didn't remember falling asleep but maybe it had happened so suddenly that he forgot it. Jin just shrugged the feeling off as his family approached him.

"So we're going back to the academy?" he asked his mom.

She nodded.

"Ulrich and I are renting a room at the hotel until New Year's Day. That way we get to spend some time with you guys. Why? Is there something you need at the school?" she asked.

Jin thought for a while and something registered in his brain. An order. He had been given an order to do something. To get something from...Draco Trevelyan...the Civics teacher. There was also the order to keep his mouth shut. Jin sighed and shook his head at his mom.

"No, I was just going to see someone, one of the teachers but I can wait. I just need to speak to him before New Year's Day," he told her.

She nodded at him and they all walked out of the hospital and towards the Stern family van. Jin got into the back seat, sitting next to the window. The whole ride to Kadic, something was bugging him. After a while, Jin started to get annoyed.

_'What is it that I'm supposed to remember anyway?_' he thought.

…

A/N: If you hate Jace, I understand but all of this was necessary. Things will explain themselves in further chapters. Like Jace's newest weapon? I'd LOVE one of those. I could get people to do my homework! XD If it seems a little off...blame my family for not letting me get my appropriate 8 hours of sleep (I get about 4-6 hours) and my school for stacking project after project on me.

Anyways, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!


	39. Caught

Chapter 38

Jace walked through the make-shift laboratory Katerina had built under her house. There were multiple chemical sets and state-of-the-art equipment along with a giant computer that linked Katerina and Jace to XANA so that they could receive orders without him having to possess anyone. She walked up to Katerina who was currently working on some kind of chemical solution. The red-haired woman looked up at her.

"Did you do what XANA told you to do?" she asked.

Jace nodded.

"Yes. I ordered Jin to get the binder and meet me at the assigned room during the New Year's Day celebration. Everyone will be pre-occupied with the fireworks and won't pay any attention to a few kids entering the school," she said.

Katerina nodded in understanding and she took out a three-inch long syringe and filled it to the brim the blue liquid that she had been concocting. She looked over at Jace who was looking through the various chemicals and machinery that was inside the lab.

"Jasmine. Please, come here," she requested.

The young girl looked up and did what she was told, walking over to her mentor.

"Yes?" she asked.

Katerina motioned for her to take the seat in front of her and Jace did. She sat down and looked up at the red-haired woman who was currently measuring the amount of solution that should go into the needle. She turned to Jace.

"Hold your arm out," she said.

The girl did as she was told and held her arm out, pulling the sleeve of her hoodie all the way up to her elbow. Katerina stared at her arm before wiping it lightly with an alcohol pad then carefully inserting the needle into it. Jace didn't protest and only winced when the metal broke through her skin. She watched as the blue liquid within the syringe decreased until everything was now flowing through her circulatory system. Katerina pulled it out and covered the little pinprick with a small gauze which she quickly taped over.

Jace pulled the sleeve of her hoodie back down over her arm.

"May I ask what you just put into my body?" she asked.

Katerina went back to tinkering with her chemical set but glanced back at Jace to show that she was listening.

"It's a little solution that I put together so that XANA's virus would not affect you as strongly as it affects Kevin," she said.

"Explain, please," Jace requested.

"As you well know, you feel whatever physical pain that boy feels and, in turn, so does XANA. I've met boys like him before. Not very easy to find, though. It must have been hard to betray his trust like that," she commented.

Jace looked away and laid her chin in her hand. Katerina's eyes softened.

"But I digress. I just had the feeling that Kevin is a boy who always feels the need to take the initiative, to lead. I was afraid that he would end up doing something reckless to protect his friends and end up getting himself hurt. The solution that I put into you will lessen that pain. It will make you feel numb to whatever harm may fall on Kevin or XANA. That way, you won't be hurt quite as much as they will," she explained.

Jace stared at her for a while before speaking.

"And why would you do something like that? You know that XANA wouldn't approve of something like that. He uses the virus as leverage against Kevin so that he wouldn't do anything stupid like hurt himself to hurt XANA," she said.

Katerina chuckled and smiled at her.

"Aye, Jasmine. You should know by now that I take care of my own, though I may have none at the moment. I will _not_ let harm come to you, my pupil. Now please take this nitrosoxide and dispose of it properly," she told Jace, handing her a cork-covered vial of clear liquid.

"Yes, ma'am."

…

Jin walked through the hallways of Kadic Academy. Kevin was still in the hospital but would be able to be let out on the 31st, which was tomorrow, so he wasn't going to miss the New Year's Day fireworks that Kadic threw every year (A/N: If that doesn't happen then I'm making this up.). He ran down the hallways, searching for Mr. Trevelyan's classroom. He seemed like some sort of wannabe ninja, sneaking around and hiding to avoid people's glances. He didn't know _why_ he was acting this way, he just knew that he had a goal and wanted to be as discreet about it as possible. Finally, he walked up to Trevelyan's class and knocked on the door before letting himself in.

Draco looked up and smiled.

"Hello, sir. May I ask why you've come here? I haven't seen you in any of my classes," he said.

Jin shrugged.

"I'm a sixth-grader," he replied.

Draco grinned.

"Ah, that explains it. Well, since you're too young to be in my class, why _are_ you here?" he asked again, putting a few papers into the drawer of his desk.

Jin closed the door, making sure that no one was behind him. He didn't know why he was so paranoid but he just felt the need to be careful. When he was pretty sure they were alone, he looked up at Trevelyan.

"You have a binder containing encryption codes for a super-virus names XANA. I need it," he said.

Draco's eyes widened in shock. He backed away slightly before clearing his throat.

"H-how do you know about XANA?" he asked.

"I don't know anything. I just know that I'm supposed to get a binder from you containing information about it. A woman named 'Katerina Volta' sent me," he said.

Draco took a deep breath and stared at Jin for a while before speaking.

"Are you sure that the order came from Katerina?" he asked.

The boy nodded.

"That's all I can remember," he replied.

Draco sighed and thought for a while before nodding and walking to one of the closets in the classroom. He pulled a key out of his pocket and opened it. He took a black box out of the closet before opening it up and taking a red binder out of it and handing it to Jin. The boy reached for it and Draco pulled back slightly. Jin looked up at him. The teacher shook his head and sighed.

"Never mind. Here, take this and get it out of my life. I no longer want to bear it's burdens. Tell Katerina that I said, 'Good luck'," he told Jin.

The boy really didn't know what that meant but nodded anyway and ran out of the classroom, heading straight to his room. He ran so fast that he didn't realize where he was going until he bumped into something hard and solid. Clutching the binder tight to his chest, he looked up to see his brother standing there with Emma and Aaren behind him. Jin's eyes brightened.

"Kev! I thought that you were getting out tomorrow!" he said, getting to his feet.

Kevin smirked.

"The doctors let me out early. What's that you got there?" he asked, motioning towards the big binder in his brother's arms.

"Uh, it's just something for a project. Gotta go!" he said quickly before running all the way to his room.

He closed the door behind him and locked it before stuffing the binder into his drawer. Whatever it was, he didn't want to have to deal with it. When he gave it back, he swore that he'd never mention this to anyone. He felt weird. Like something was wrong with that binder.

Like it contained something evil.

…

Dec. 31st – New Year's Day celebration

Jin ran to room F108 with the binder held tightly to his chest. Why was he running here again? He just remembered that he had to. He rounded a corner and kept running. If someone had seen him running that night, they'd have thought that the devil was after him. Jin didn't know why he felt an urgent need to get there but he decided to follow his instinct and run to the classroom. He finally got there and opened the door.

When he got in, he was immediately pushed up against the door and a small hand covered his mouth. A was so shocked that he almost dropped the binder. The hand on his mouth relaxed when the person seemed to realize who he was. The person – obviously a girl – backed away slightly, giving him some space, before speaking with a familiar voice.

"So you've got the binder?" asked Jace.

Jin did nothing but nod, stunned. She motioned for him to give it to her and he did. She looked through it and seemed satisfied with what she saw. She handed it back to him.

"I want you to copy every single one of these pages with that copy machine," she ordered him, pointing at the white contraption sitting at the end of the room.

He stared at her like he was about to protest but she let out a small shock of electricity from her gauntlet.

"Understand?" she asked firmly.

Jin nodded. She let out a breath and proceeded to give him her orders. He listened intently and started copying the pages without a complaint. Jace nodded in satisfaction and decided that it was time fore her to make her leave. She would have to get back to Katerina and tell that her plan was going well. She took one last, remorseful look at the brainwashed Jin and slipped out the door, pulling her hoodie up over her head so that no one would recognize her. She heard a high-pitched sound following by a distinct boom and looked up to see fireworks being launched into the sky.

"New Year's already?" she asked herself before shrugging it off.

She walked to the back of the school and planned on running all the way back to Katerina's when she came face-to-face with the person she _definitely_ did not want to be seen by.

"Shit," she swore before turning and running, Kevin hot on her tail.

She ran through the hallways, moving left and right, trying to lose him but he never gave up. They kept running, all the way out of the academy. She looked out of the corner of her eye and saw him pulling his phone out, probably planning on calling the others. By then, they had hit the streets, which were empty because many people were at parties or watching the fireworks. She made a quick decision and turned around, jumping in mid-air and kicking the phone out of his hand. It landed on the road and broke into pieces.

Kevin took the opportunity and grabbed her leg, pulling her towards him. She pushed her body forward, forcing him to fall backwards onto the ground. He grunted when he hit the pavement and she untangled herself from him and started running off. He didn't give up that easily and quickly went after her. He caught up with her as they neared a small inn. He grabbed her hood, forcing her to jerk backwards. He wrapped his hand around her neck and pushed her up against the wall of the inn. He tightened his grip but not enough to choke her. Just enough to let her know that he was serious about what he was doing.

Jace glared at him. Both of them were breathing heavily since they had just run over a mile.

"What are you up to, Jace?" he asked her.

She bared her teeth at him.

"Get the hell off of me," she growled out.

He punched the wall on the side of her face, just right next to her ear. Jace smirked.

"Seriously, Kevin. We both know that you're not going to hurt me. You're not capable of it," she taunted.

Kevin rose an eyebrow.

"And are _you_ capable of hurting _me_?" he asked.

Her face straightened and she leaned against the wall, no longer struggling. It was Kevin's turn to smirk.

"What are you doing working for XANA, Jace?" he asked.

The girl stared at him before looking away.

"Whatever business I have with that bastard is nothing that you should be concerned about," she snapped.

"Well, seeing as how you gave me a _virus_ I think that I have _some_ right to know," he retorted, eyes narrowing.

Jace glared at him before looking down.

"Kevin, please. Just leave me alone. I already know that what I'm doing is bad. You don't need to make me feel any worse about myself," she said softly.

Kevin stared at her, wondering if it was a trick to gain his sympathy. She _was_ a great actress after all...He pulled away and grabbed her elbow, pulling her towards the inn.

"What are you doing?" she asked him sharply.

"Shut it and just go along with it. I'm going to get some answers out of you tonight, Jace. You can bet on it," he said, slipping his hand into hers as they entered.

He didn't want it to look like he was forcing her to do anything – even though, technically, he was. Jace looked at him but did was he said.

"I wouldn't hold my breath," she muttered.

Kevin have her an icy glare before walking up to the woman at the counter.

"Ma'am? Can we rent a room for tonight?" he asked.

The woman gave him a weird look but nodded when he pulled out a wad of cash. She entered their names – fake ones he had just came up with on the spot – and gave them a key. Kevin grabbed it and practically dragged Jace up the stairs to the third floor.

"You _do_ know she thinks we're going to do _it_ here, right?" she asked him.

The dark-haired boy rolled his eyes.

"Let her think whatever she wants to think. You, on the other hand, should start talking now," he said, pushing her into the room and locking the door.

Jace smirked and sat down on the little couch in the room. There was one couch, one bed, a TV, two closets and a window with a balcony. Kevin stood in front of her and she looked up at him, crossing her legs and grinning as if she knew that she was playing a game that she was obviously going to win.

Kevin placed two hands on both arm rests of the couch and moved closer to Jace, looking ready for a full-on interrogation.

"What are you doing with XANA?"

…

A/N: Whoo! Over 2,700 words – now officially longer than the other chapters!

Yeah, right like I'm gonna write longer than THAT! Anyways...

What will Jace say? What will Kevin do about it? Will anything happen between these two former lovers?

Review if you wanna find out!


	40. Love the Way You Lie

A/N: This chapter is going to be a sort of songfic. I just wanted to give tribute to the song that inspired this chapter. Love the Way You Lie Part 2 by Rihanna and Eminem. I advise that you listen to this song while you read this chapter. I'm not going to put the chorus in, though, until the last part so this thing isn't two million pages long. XD Listen to it over and over again if you're a slow reader. The song's awesome, anyway! ^_^

...

Chapter 39

_On the first page of our story_

_The future seemed so bright_

"Where's XANA?" asked Kevin.

"Probably planning something," she replied wittily.

Kevin stared at her before shaking his head.

"What made you fuck up like this, Jace?" he asked her, looking more vulnerable now.

Jace smirked.

"I do things for my own reasons. I advise that you don't try to figure me out," she told him.

_Then this thing turned out so evil_

_I don't know why I'm still surprised_

Kevin took a seat and sat in front of her. She almost laughed at the serious look on his face. She leaned forward and stared at his face before smiling evilly.

"I'm gonna go now," she said, standing up to leave.

He reached out and grabbed her arm, throwing her back on to the couch. He cornered her there with his body. She looked up at him, as if she was expecting something.

"What?" he asked.

_Even angels have their wicked schemes_

_And you take that to new extremes_

"Aren't you going to hit me? I mean, Aaren said to inflict physical pain onto me if necessary," she said with an innocent look on her face which quickly shifted into a devilish grin.

He wrapped his hand around her neck and squeezed lightly.

"Don't think I'm not above hitting a woman. Why did you plant a virus in me, Jace?" he asked.

"Because I was ordered to," she answered.

"How long have you been taking orders? Tell me, was our relationship ever real?" he questioned, looking hurt.

_But you'll always be my hero_

_Even though you lost your mind_

Jace pushed him away and got to her feet, walking towards the little kitchen in the room. His eyes followed her closely as she picked an apple from the small fruit basket on the table. She turned to him.

"Fruit?" she offered, holding out her hand.

He looked at her strangely before reaching out to take it from her hand. She threw it to the wall and tackled him, her hand at his throat. They broke through the glass table in the room and glass flew everywhere. Thankfully,Kevin's clothes prevented any scratches.

Jace was unharmed, as well, though she ended up on top.

_Now there's gravel in our voices_

_Glass is shattered from the fight_

"Don't think _I'm_ above hitting a former friend," she said in a hostile tone.

Kevin tried to push her off of him but only succeeded in rolling them over, his hand at her throat. Jace did the same until they were rolling all over the floor, each teen trying to get their hands on the other. Finally, Jace ended up on top. A blade slipped out of the tip of her gauntlet and she held it to his throat. It was thin but still looked deadly.

"Don't you dare move," she ordered.

_In this tug-of-war, you'll always win_

_Even when I'm right_

Kevin stared up at her and his eyes softened, seeming to let down his guard.

"Jace, please. Just explain it to me. I need to know why. Why you hurt all of us for no good reason," he said.

"I have a good reason," she muttered.

"Then tell me," he said.

Jace stared at him for a while before finally snapping.

"I can't!" she screamed, digging the blade into his shoulder.

They both grunted in pain, Jace just barely felt it.

_Cause you feed me fables from you hand_

_With violent words and empty threats_

Jace stared at his face and pulled the blade out of his shoulder, a thin stream of blood ran down his arm. She looked to her side and saw the blood going down her shoulder. She ignored it. The blade was too small to cause any real damage and besides, it's not like she could feel it. She looked down at Kevin.

"See? I'm not afraid to hurt you," she told him.

Kevin looked up at her with a sad expression.

"So I'm guessing that you never loved me," he said.

_And it's sick that all these battles_

_Are what keep me satisfied_

Her gaze on him softened but she still kept the blade close to his neck. She stared at his face before pulling away and shook her head at him, answering his question. She turned to leave but he stopped her by wrapping his arms around her body.

"Lie," he said, pulling her face towards him.

She gave him a questioning look.

"Just lie to me and say yes," he said, kissing her once.

_So maybe I'm a masochist_

_I try to run but I don't wanna ever leave_

Jace pulled away and stared at his face, a look of uncertainty crossed her face. He just stared back at her and placed a hand on her cheek. Without thinking she leaned into it. He looked into her dark eyes.

"Happy birthday," he said softly.

"You remembered," she realized.

"15. Yeah, I'd remember," he told her.

She looked uncertain but gave into her feelings and kissed him.

_Til the walls are goin' up _

_In smoke with all _

_Our memories_

Jace turned her head and looked at the clock. 3:35 am. She had been asleep for two hours. She looked at the sleeping boy next to her. He looked incredibly peaceful when he was sleeping, arm thrown behind his head and his breathing even. She felt like she was corrupting something so pure. Something so perfect. With her lies and her deceit, she was not worthy of him, of the love he gave her. She kissed his forehead lightly and stared at his closed eyelids before getting off of the bed they were on and pulled her clothes on. It would do her no good to stay here all night. When she managed to put her gauntlet on, she pulled her phone out and flipping it open. Her fingers flew in a violent fury as she wrote in the important message. She had been hindered and had not bothered to check up on her job. What XANA and Katerina had ordered her to do...along with the decision she had made along the way. Kevin stirred and cracked an eye open to see her putting her phone back in her pocket.

_It's morning, you wake, a sunray hits your face_

_Smeared make-up as we lay in the wake of destruction_

He watched as she tried to straighten her hair. He went along with what she was doing and pulled his pants on and just threw his green undershirt on, leaving his black t-shirt on the bed. He walked up to the girl he loved and kissed her on the lips. Jace put a hand on his chest and closed her eyes before pulling away and staring at his chest.

"Do you regret it?" he asked quietly.

She shook her head.

"I feel like I forced it on you," he said.

She placed a finger to his lips.

"Shh."

_Hush baby, speak softly_

_Tell me your awfully sorry_

Kevin laughed but then looked out the window. There were still fireworks blowing up in the sky. He sighed sadly.

"What does this do for us?" he asked.

Jace shrugged.

"I don't know but you _do_ know that no one can know about this. I mean, even if today _is_ my birthday and I just turned 15, people will think we were too young. And we _definitely_ can't let XANA, Aaren or the others know about this," she told him.

Kevin frowned and ran a hand through her hair.

"I hate what he's done to you."

_That you pushed me into the coffee table last night_

_So I can push you off me_

"Me, too. But there's nothing we can do about it...except forget this ever happened," she said, looking down at the floor.

Kevin released her face.

"I knew that you regretted it," he said.

She shook her head sadly.

"I don't, Kevin. It's just that...now is not the time to-"

"I understand," he said but it didn't make her feel any less worse.

_Try and touch me _

_So I can scream you not to touch me_

Kevin sighed and at the glass that had been shattered all over the floor on the living room. Jace looked around nervously.

"I need to leave," she said.

There was a knock on and Kevin pulled Jace behind him. She rolled her eyes and walked past him to open the door. He looked worried as she turned the door knob. The door opened and Kevin looked up to see his younger brother walk in. He didn't seem to notice the fact that his brother and his brother's ex-girlfriend were in a room...in an inn...and that glass was broken all over the floor.

_Run out the room_

_And I'll follow you like a lost puppy_

He handed Jace a red binder along with another, newer-looking binder. He seemed in a trance and when Jace told him to go, he left without so much as a glance at his elder brother. Kevin frowned.

"What did you do to him?" he asked her.

She sighed sadly.

"What I was ordered to do. He's okay, though. He won't remember anything," She told him.

"You _controlled_ him?" Kevin asked in an outraged tone.

_Baby, without you, I'm lost, hug me_

_Then tell me how ugly I am but that you'll always love me_

Jace's eyes sharpened.

"What do you think? I wasn't going to let him go and blab to everyone about me being here. I would've gotten in _huge_ trouble with XANA. Not to mention the fact that knowing would have put him in danger. I was just being _safe_, Kevin," she told him.

He ran a hand through his bangs and turned on her.

"You couldn't have chosen someone else? Why my little brother?" he yelled.

Jace flinched but met his glare with on of her headed for the door.

"I don't need to take this from you."

Kevin's hands shot out at her and grabbed her waist, throwing her back on the bed.

_Then after that shove me, in the aftermath of the_

_Destructive path that we're on_

He held her to bed, arms and legs flailing everywhere as he tried to keep her in his grasp and she tried to get out of it. Jace managed to land a punch on his stomach and he rolled away. She got up off of the bed and turned around to look at him, slightly panting at the pain she had inflicted on herself when she punched him. She pushed a loose lock of hair behind her ear.

"I did it for you," she said.

Kevin got off the bed and to his feet.

"What?" he asked.

"I controlled your brother so that he could help me help _you_," she said.

Her voice finally showed some emotion as it rose in pitch.

_Two psychopaths but we know that no matter knives that we put in each other's backs_

_That we'll have each other's backs, cause we're that lucky_

Kevin gave her a weird look.

"I don't understand," he finally confessed.

She smirked and walked up to him.

"I don't expect you to," she said, turning away.

He thought that she was going to run away and leave him there so he grabbed her arm. She looked down at his arm and let out an amused chuckled. She stared into his eyes.

"I'm gonna have to leave. You _do_ know that, right?" she asked him.

_Together we move mountains, let's not make mountains out of molehills_

_You hit me twice, yeah, but who's counting?_

He hated the way she was making him feel right now. It was like he was some hapless puppy who wanted all of her attention but she was trying to shoo him away. Either way, though, he knew that he still felt something deep for her.

She pulled his hand off of her arm and proceeded to get her hair and clothes into order, trying to straighten them out so it didn't look like she just have the three-letter-word on her birthday with her ex-boyfriend who was drawn between letting her do what XANA had ordered to do and tying her to the god damn bed and bringing all the Lyoko warriors to come and interrogate her. She looked at the boy she loved.

_I may have hit you three times, I'm starting to lose count but_

_Together, we'll live forever; We've found the youth fountain_

Kevin looked incredibly confused. On one hand, letting XANA know that he had found her and she had submitted to him _willingly_ could have grave consequences for Jace because she had went against XANA's direct orders: Do NOT come into contact with any Lyoko warrior without his permission. On the other hand, he had the chance to find all the answers to why Jace was working for XANA by bringing the whole gang her and letting Aaren go nuts.

Jace walked up to him. Finally showing her feelings by reaching up and kissing him.

"Kevin, please. You know that I have to do this," she said softly.

"But why?" he asked her slowly.

_Our love is crazy, we're nuts but I refuse counselin'; This house is too huge_

_If you move I'll burn all two thousand-square feet of it to the ground_

"Because he's going to hurt every single person I love and cherish if I don't. Hundreds of deaths will be on my hands if I don't do what he says. Which is why coming here was so dangerous. I needed someone I knew to do the work for me so that I wouldn't end up doing _this. _I love you, Kevin, but...as long as XANA has some control over either one of us...I can't do this with you," she said.

The teenage boy nodded in understanding. He put his hands on the sides of her face and pulled her into a kiss. She let herself kiss him for a while but then she had to pull away.

_Ain't shit that you can do about it_

_Cause with you, I'm in my fuckin' mind_

_Without you, I'm out it_

"Here. Take this and use it wisely," she said, handing him the newer-looking binder.

He took it and stared at her.

"What is it?" he asked.

Jace chuckled.

_Just gonna stand there and watch me burn_

_But that's alright because I like the way it hurts_

"It's something that I know you'll all appreciate. XANA will give me hell for it when he finds out but by then, I'll have something against him so he won't do any harm to me," she told him.

She only gave him a small smile and a kiss on the cheek before finally turning and walking towards the door. She opened it and stopped halfway through the door to look back at him.

"Make them hate me," she whispered.

He looked up at her with a confused stare. She just nodded, looking at the floor.

_Just gonna stand there and hear me cry_

_But that's alright because I love the way you lie_

"That way they won't hold back against me and XANA. They can't know the truth," she said, walking out the door and finally leaving.

He watched her leave and still stared at the empty doorway after she had left. He looked at the object in his hands and opened it up. His eyes roamed over the various codes and encryptions. All the data about XANA was in here. All his plans were in here. Kevin looked back up and stared at the hallway once again, his heart yearning for the girl he loved to come running back through it.  
He sighed, knowing that she wouldn't.

"Thank you, Jace."

_I love the way you lie..._

_I love the way you lie..._

_I love the way you lie..._

* * *

A/N: I...feel...like...such...a...sap...If you didn't get any of this, don't worry, I don't really get it either. (^_^) I tried my best in this chapter and I hope that it paid off. Wow, over 3,000 words! I'm so proud of myself!

Just for reference! Jace went to school late so she ended up with kids who are about a year younger than her so, technically, she's closer to Kevin's age than you'd think.

PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME HOW IT WORKED OUT!


	41. New Players

A/N: And here's another chapter! Hope it's okay!

...

Chapter 40

Annie was currently going through the binder Kevin had handed her. She looked up at him with suspicious eyes.

"How did you get this?" she asked him.

Kevin just shrugged.

"Is it really important?" he challenged.

Annie frowned.

"Yes. I mean, this is all valuable information about XANA and you _happened_ to come across it?" she asked with obvious disbelief.

Kevin just sighed and sat down. He stared at the dark clouds floating by. Annie took the seat next to him and held the binder close to her body.

"What aren't you telling me?" she asked him.

Kevin sighed.  
"Can we just say that someone gave it to me and leave it at that?" he asked, frustrated.

He stood up and took off without another word. Annie looked confused at his behavior and stared at the incredibly valuable information currently lying in her arms. She sighed and left for the factory. She would started decoding this stuff when she got a hold of Jasper.

…

"This is so cool!" Aaren said, lightly punching Kevin on his arm.

"Yeah, all of this is really valuable," Caleb said, pointing at the red binder Jasper and Annie were currently reviewing.

"How many times are you guys going to say that?" Kevin asked, annoyed.

There were numerous papers on the table they were sitting on. All of them had many different equations and codes written down on them. The pinkette and the redhead were currently trying to figuring what the binder said about XANA. So far, they had only figured out half of it and it had been three days since Kevin had brought it to them in the first place. He had still not spoken about how he had gotten it and the whole group could tell that he wasn't going to say a word any time soon. It had upset them that he was keeping secrets but they decided to just leave him alone about it. After all, he had been the one to bring it to them in the first place, that was enough, for now.

Caleb, Aaren and Kevin were all in the middle of an argument when Jacob walked up to them.

"Hey, guys. I heard about Jace. How is she doing in Paris?" he asked.

Kevin frowned, getting up and leaving. Jacob's eyes followed him as he walked out the door. He turned to Aaren and the rest of the group.

"He's not taking it well, is he?" he asked.

They all shook their heads. Jacob sighed.

"Well, he'd better pull his act together. Our first game is in a month and he'd better not go on some lovesick rampage and quit. He's one of our best players," he said.

"No offense, Jake. But did you just come here to tell us that?" asked Mina.

Jacob looked at his sister and shook his head.

"No. Actually, I was wondering if you guys would like to try out for the soccer team. We're two people short. Jace left and that kid, Russell, got hit by a firework during New Year's and can't play because his right leg is all burned. Care to come to tryouts?" he asked.

They all shrugged.

"Sure, why not? See me there," said Caleb.

"Me, too," said Mina, raising her index finger.

Jacob smiled.

"See you at the tryouts," he said.

…

Kevin walked through the hallways, in a fury, when he bumped into someone. He looked down and saw his little brother there on the floor. Kevin extended his arm and helped him up.

"Sorry, Jin. Didn't see where I was going," he said.

"It's okay, Kev. I hear that there are going to be tryouts today. I'm gonna go watch to see if I can pick up on anything that I can use next year," he told Kevin.

Kevin smiled.

"You're trying out next year?" he asked.

"Yeah. What? You think you're the only Stern who likes soccer?" he asked.

The elder Stern laughed.

"Yeah, well. Learn well. And Jin?" he asked.

The boy looked up at his brother.

"Yeah?"

"What do you remember about New Year's?" he asked.

Jin thought for a moment and shrugged.

"Just the fireworks, I guess. I probably fell asleep after that. See ya," he said, running down the hallway.

Kevin stared after him then sighed.

"Well, at least _something_ in this world is working right," he said.

At the Tryouts...

Mina, Caleb and three others: a brunette named Eric, a blonde boy named Oliver and a redhead named Keisha. Jacob looked at all five of them. Kevin, Aaren and three other members of the team – Matthew, Robbie and Ian – were standing next to him. They were there to help with the judging. Jacob looked down at the little clipboard he had his hands. It had all their names, ages, grades and basic information. He looked up all of them.

"Okay, all of those trying out for Defender, please go to the left. Those trying out for Forward, go to the right," he said.

Caleb and Eric all went to the right, trying out for Forward. Mina, Keisha and Oliver moved to the left, trying out for Defender. Jacob nodded in satisfaction.

"Okay, for the Defenders, we'll just do a basic practice where each of my five players here will try to get the ball past you and you will try to prevent them from getting the ball in. For the Forwards, since there are two of you, I will mix you up with four of my members to make it three on three. First to 2 points wins and we will judge you on how you handle the ball and work with your team mates. Any questions?" he asked.

Keisha raised her hand.

"Yes?" inquired Jacob

"Why isn't Kevin the captain of the soccer team?" she asked.

Some of the members snickered.

"Because he told the team members that he would castrate every one of them and use their heads as bowling bowls if they voted for him. Any other questions?" he asked with a straight face.

Everyone was quiet.

"Alright. Let's begin with the Defenders. Oliver, you first," he said.

The blonde boy nodded and stood in box in front of the net. Matthew was first. He kick the ball lightly before running with it. Oliver followed his movements closely. He ran closer and tried to kick the ball into the goal. Oliver jumped high enough to block it with his chest and kicked the ball back to Matthew who stopped it and walked off the field, letting Kevin take his place.

That's how it went for the rest of the Defenders. Oliver managed to block 3 out of the 5 attempt towards the goal; he missed Kevin and Robbie's shots. Keisha, on the other hand...well, she only managed to block _two_ shots. The first shot from Matthew, she ducked. The second one from Kevin, she ran. The third one from Aaren, she accidentally caught. The fourth from Robbie, she missed. The last one from Ian, she only managed to block it because he missed the shot. Mina actually felt very sorry for her.

Mina managed to block 4 out of the 5 shots. She missed Kevin's shot by just a hairbreadth. Jacob smiled and announced that Mina would be Kadic's newest Defender. She smiled happily and walked up to Aaren's side. He smiled at her and draped his arm around her shoulder. Jake faced Caleb and Eric.

"Caleb, you will be on Kevin's team. You and Kevin will be Forwards and Aaren will by your goalie. Eric, you will be on Matthew's team. You will be on Robbie's team. You and Robbie will be Forwards and Ian will be your goalie. Matthew, you can sit this one out," he told his player.

Matthew nodded and took a seat next to Mina. Keisha and Oliver had left for the bleachers where Jin, Emma and various other students were watching. Caleb went to Kevin's team and Eric went to Robbie's team. Jacob made sure they were in position and blew the whistle. Caleb managed to get to the ball first and kicked it to Kevin. He ran with the ball towards the goal but was blocked by Robbie. He kicked it over to Caleb and the blonde kicked it hard enough to score. Mina and the crowd cheered and Jacob put them back in position.

"Score is 1-0. Kevin's team!" he said and blew the whistle.

Robbie managed to get the ball this time and kicked it to Eric. Eric kicked it high towards the goal, probably thinking that Aaren's height would make him unable to catch the ball. Aaren proved him wrong when ran up the pole (yes, _ran_) and kicked himself towards the ball. He caught it and fell to the ground. The crowd cheered like crazy and Mina was grinning proudly. The blonde got to his feet and kicked the ball across the field to Kevin who was standing in front of the goal. Ian's eyes widened when he saw who had the ball. Kevin smirked and with a flick of his foot, the ball hit the pipe of the goal and soared behind Ian's head.

"2-0! Kevin's team wins! Caleb is our newest Forward!" Jacob shouted.

The crowd cheered in approval and Aaren patted Caleb on the back. Kevin smiled at him and punched his arm playfully. They walked over to the bench and were met by Mina, Jin and Emma.

"Cool. Now we're all on the same team!" Mina exclaimed.

Aaren and Caleb laughed.

"Yeah. I'm on the same team as my girlfriend. What fun," Aaren said sarcastically.

Mina pouted and crossed her arms across her chest. Aaren smiled.

"Just kidding, Mina. I'm glad to have you on the team!" he told her, wrapping an arm around her waist.

They all laughed and Kevin felt sort of weird. He had a strange feeling like someone was watching him. He turned his head to the side and looked at the bleachers, scanning the seats. His eyes caught glossy brown hair and they narrowed, focusing on the face. The man looked about 24 or 25 years old. He was tall and lanky wearing a high-necked black dress shirt with a red tie. He had fitting black pants on and his left hand was in his pocket. He lifted his right hand and motioned for Kevin to come towards him.

Aaren looked up and noticed where Kevin was staring at. He caught a glimpse of the man and let go of Mina and pulled Kevin to the side. Mina, Caleb, Emma and Jin were still recapping on the tryouts so they barely noticed.

"Who's that dude?" Aaren asked.

"He's not important," Kevin answered.

Aaren frowned.

"Seriously, Kev. You look freaked out! Who _is_ that dude?" he asked again.

Kevin sighed and took a look at the man near the bleachers. He was still standing there, waiting for Kevin to approach him. The dark-haired boy turned to his blonde friend.

"Can you distract them for a while? I need to talk to him but I don't want Emma or Jin to see him," he told Aaren.

"Sure. But why?" he asked.

Kevin sighed and stole a glance at the brown-haired man.

"That man is one of the most dangerous men on earth," he confessed.

"Why?"

"He's part of the Yamaguchi-gumi. The largest Yakuza family in the entire world."

…

A/N: Haha! Cliffie! Please review! Sorry if I disappoint you guys a bit. I'm really really trying! Next chapter will probably be a little better! ^_^

PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW!


	42. The Yakuza: Recruitment

A/N: Sorry, guys. Been busy so it's been a bit difficult to work on chapters. This one's a little short but bear with me, guys. PLEASE!

Chapter 41

Aaren rushed the group into the Academy, mumbling something about helping him with a project and offering to teach Jin more about soccer. Mina, Caleb and Emma all groaned while Jin smiled in excitement. Kevin watched them walk away before walking up to the brown-haired man. The man was pale and had a smirk on his face. Kevin frowned as he approached him. Finally, he stopped a few feet away from him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked with a frown.

The man chuckled and stood straight. He walked up to Kevin and placed a hand on his head. He proceeded to run the boy's hair playfully.

"Oh, come on, Daisuke. It can't be _that_ bad seeing me," he said, calling Kevin by his second name – his Japanese name.

Kevin's frown deepened.

"Yes, it is. I don't want you around Jin or Emma," he replied.

The man smirked again and took a seat on the lowest bench of the bleachers. Kevin stood in front of him, watching his face closely. The man laughed at the look of suspicion on his face.

"Seriously, Daisuke. You're going to get early frown lines on your face if you continue with that uptight-edge thing you've got going on," he said playfully.

Kevin scoffed.

"I'm serious. _What_ are you doing _here_?" he asked, looking the man straight in the eye.

The brown-haired man stood up and sighed.

"Might as well just say it," he said, looking down at the boy in front of him. "I've come here to recruit into the Yamaguchi-gumi. We want you to join the Yakuza."

…

Aaren, Mina and Caleb were currently backed up against the back of the bleachers, listening to the entire conversation. They had managed to ditch Jin and had stuck Emma with Annie and Jasper to help with the red binder Kevin had given them a few days ago. Aaren just figured that since those were the only two Kevin said did not want any interaction with, he, Mina and Caleb were still able to, at least, eavesdrop.

Aaren's eyes widened in shock when he heard the man's announcement. He turned to his friend and his girlfriend. They looked just as shocked as he did.

…

Kevin scoffed.

"Like hell I'd join such a horrible group," he answered defiantly.

The man, for the first time, seemed to lose his playful exterior as his lips formed a straight line.

"The Yamaguchi-gumi is the largest and most successful Yakuza family and has more than 50,000 members under it. I'd watch what I say, if I were you," said the brown-haired man.

Kevin glared at him.

"Well, you _aren't_ me. And I, sure as hell, am _not_ you. I will _never_ be you...Kyo Kobayashi," he said, saying the man's name for the first time.

Kyo smirked.

"And here I thought that you forgot all about me, Daisuke," he said.

"Stop calling me that. The only one who calls me that is my mom...and only when she's angry with me," he told the man.

The sides of Kyo's lips turned downwards at the mention of Yumi. He straightened up.

"Well, that's what I'm calling you now. So deal with it, Daisuke. It's a respectable name...a _Japanese_ name. Something to be proud of," he told him.

"Well, 'Kevin' is also a name to be proud of. It's my first name. The name my mother named me so it seems appropriate to call me by the name she wanted to call me by for the rest of my life," he said.

Kyo shook his head and laughed. Kevin gave him a confused look.

"Oh, please. The Japanese reign supreme and you should embrace that side of your heritage. Be proud to be Japanese," said Kyo.

Kevin scoffed.

"I _am_ proud to be Japanese. But I _am_ German, too. And I will embrace that side of my heritage, just the same," he said proudly.

Kyo scowled.

"Tch. _Germans_. They are the most pathetic things on earth. Always starting wars and trying to regain the pride they so badly want but will never really gain. Germans are the worst and the most idiotic form of human beings," he said, glaring now (A/N: Please! Let it be known that the author is NO way agrees with any of this! Germans are awesome!)

Kevin glared back at him with full force now.

"I think you should leave," he said quietly.

"What?" asked Kyo.

"Leave. Now," Kevin ordered.

Kyo raised an eyebrow.

"I take it that you are _not_ joining the Yakuza?" he asked.

Kevin glared at him.

"Never. Not in a million years," he told him angrily.

Kyo shrugged and started walking before diving under the bleachers and emerging with three familiar faces. Kevin groaned when he saw his friends.

"Didn't I tell you to go _away_?" he asked.

Aaren immediately defended himself.

"Hey! Curiosity got the best of me, dude. Besides, once you said 'Yakuza' there was no _way_ I could resist and I had to drag these two along with me because I couldn't shake them off!" he said, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Keep talking that way and you'll have signed yourself your death warrant," Mina threatened.

Aaren looked scared.

"Uh...I love you, babe?"

Mina huffed and crossed her arms across her chest. Kyo dropped all three of them and they ran to Kevin's side. The man smirked in pity.

"See? _These_ are the people you've managed to group yourself with?" he asked.

Kevin frowned. Kyo laughed.

"I should've taken you with me while I had the chance. You would've had friends who are worthy of such presence," he muttered.

Kevin's eye twitched.

"Believe me, Kyo. I'm glad that I never went with you. I'm glad to be in France, in Kadic," he retorted.

Kyo chuckled.

"Japan would suit you better. The Yakuza have a lot more fun. A lot more excitement. You'd really do well under our rule," he said.

Kevin scowled.

"It's more fun an exciting here in Kadic than you'd think," he said icily.

"What? Soccer? Learning? The Yakuza is better, Daisuke. Trust me," he said with a laugh.

"Now why would I go and do something stupid like that?" he replied.

Kyo looked like he was about to say something but stopped.

"You know what? I'll just pretend those words never came out of your mouth. Remember, Daisuke: You may know me very well and I may be very lenient towards you...but I am still part of the Yamaguchi-gumi: the Yakuza and I will _not_ tolerate such insolence. Keep talking to me like that and I'll cut that little tongue of yours off," he told him, completely serious now.

Kevin's friends' felt chills run down their backs. Kevin stared at Kyo evenly.

"Please, leave. My final answer is no. I will _never_ join the Yakuza. Just stop badgering me about it! I said no the last time you asked me and my answer is _still_ and will always be 'NO'," he told Kyo.

The man stared at Kevin's face, examining it. He looked for any sign of hesitation – any sign that he was just saying that because his friends were there. Kyo saw none – no hesiation. Kevin was telling the truth. He meant what he was saying.

Kyo sighed in resignation.

"Well, it wouldn't do me any good to argue with you over the matter. You had your chance and you blew it. I have no other business here," he said, turning away.

Kevin stared at his back before remembering something.

"Kyo," he called.

The man turned around and Kevin's friends looked at him nervously.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I just want to remind you to stay away from Emma and Jin," he said.

Kyo raised an eyebrow.

"Daisuke, the only one we want is you. Compared to those two, you are superior. We want people who are smart and skilled like you so don't bother bringing them up in conversation. The Japanese Mafia are not very interested in two simple-minded nobodies when there is someone who is capable of greatness within their midst," he told him seriously.

Kevin gritted his teeth.

"A simple 'no', would've sufficed," he grounded out.

Kyo smirked.

"Since when have I ever been simple..._otouto?_" he added.

Caleb raised an eyebrow and Kevin sighed as Kyo left the premises. The young Belpois turned to his friend, gawking.

"Kevin, he called you 'otouto'. Doesn't that mean 'younger brother' is Japanese?" he asked.

Aaren and Mina turned to him in surprise.

"Wait, what?" asked Aaren.

Kevin nodded slowly, looking away.

"Dude, why didn't you _tell _us that you had a brother?"

Kevin just shrugged. Caleb placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You know you can tell, right? I mean...we're bros," he said.

Kevin smirked and nodded in agreement. He glanced at their expectant faces.

"I guess I can tell you this much. That man goes by the name of Kyo Kobayashi. His real name, though...is Kristian Emmerich Ishiyama Stern. He changed it after joining the Yakuza," he told them.

"Why?" asked Mina.

Kevin sighed.

"It's a long story."

…

A/N: Haha! Cliffie! Yeah, I know. I'm horrible but if I wasn't this story would be over and have a much different ending so you guys probably wouldn't like it that much! ^_^

Next Chapter: The Path of a Stern

REVIEW IF YOU WANNA SEE IT!


	43. The Path of a Stern

A/N: Here it is! Kristian/Kyo's past! I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 42

Aaren, Mina and Caleb all stared at Kevin expectantly. He sighed.

"It all started when we moved to Lyon, France and Kristian was sent to attend school at Cité Scolaire Internationale De Lyon. CSI, for short. I was only 3 when he was enrolled into the eighth grade seeing how he's ten years older than me. CSI is not known for ethnic discriminations but Kristian had managed to piss off a nasty bunch of French boys and they were hellbent on making his life hell."

…

_Kristian ran down the hallways of CSI. Jacques and his group were after him again. He didn't know what he had done this time but it looked like they were getting ready for a sparring session and he didn't want any part of it. He turned a corner and bumped into something _big_. Kristian fell to the floor and looked up to see his worst nightmare. The boy was a tall, muscled senior named André and he was the oldest and scariest member of Jacques's gang. Kristian scrambled to his feet and tried to run away but his scrawny body wasn't capable of gaining much distance from the giant upperclassman and soon, he was being dragged by his collar and was thrown to the floor in front of a tall ninth-grader with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. Jacques smirked and Kristian slowly got to his feet. The two boys behind him laughed at Kristian as he dusted the dirt from his knees._

"_So I heard you've been messing with my girl, Anna," he said._

_Kristian scoffed._

"_Like I'd mess around with any girl you've even touched. I'd rather die than touch your girl," he answered defiantly._

_Jacques raised an eyebrow._

"_So what? You saying my girl isn't good enough for someone like you? A German boy? Is that what you're saying?" he asking in an angry tone._

_Kristian sighed in frustration. Why was he always bringing this stupid racial thing up?_

"_Hell no. All I'm saying is that she's _your_ girl and there's no way I'd mess around with her," he said._

_Apparently, Jacques didn't give a damn about what Kristian said._

"_André, Benjamin. Hold him," he ordered._

_The two boys ran forward and lunged at Kristian. He tried to get away but they managed to get a hold of his shoulders and arms, throwing his backpack against the wall. Kristian saw all his things fly out of his bag and scatter all over the floor. His eyes quickly turned his gaze from his stuff to the blonde boy approaching him._

"_This'll teach you to mess with me," he said._

_Kristian groaned in pain as Jacques fist flew straight to his stomach. He let out a loud grunt as the boy landed a kick to his side. This went on for ten minutes until Jacques thought that he had enough. By then, Kristian's brown hair was messy, his face was sweaty and he had bruises all over his body. The boys dropped him as Jacques landed one final kick to his stomach. Kristian groaned and bit his lip in pain. The blonde boy smirked._

"_Learned your lesson, didn't you?" he asked._

_Kristian just laid there, twitching in pain. Jacques chuckled darkly before turning away._

"_Fucking Nazi."_

…

"So they hated him because he was _German_?" exclaimed Mina.

"Well, they always hated him. Kristian just always thought that it was because of his ethnic background. After that, he hated his German blood. Thought that it was nothing but something that everyone hated him for and that it would cause him nothing but trouble," explained Kevin.

"So what did your parents do about it?" asked Aaren.

Kevin flinched at the memory.

…

"_I think we should take this to the authorities," said Ulrich._

_A three-year-old Kevin was peeking through the doors of his bedroom. Two-year-old Emma was sleeping in the very same bedroom while the newborn, Jin, was asleep in his parents room. Kevin's tiny brain could barely process what was going on but he knew that it was bad. Kris – as he preferred to call him – was fighting with mom and dad about something in school. Kevin wondered why Kris hated the place; it looked fun._

"_Like hell that would end well! Jacques father is the fucking principal and his godfather is the fucking CHIEF-OF-POLICE!" shouted Kristian._

"_Kristian! Your siblings are asleep and you shouldn't be using those words in this house," Yumi scolded her eldest son._

"_I still think we should call the authorities," said Ulrich._

"_Is that all you can say, dad? Did you NOT hear what I said?" Kristian shouted._

"_Yes, I did. But I'd rather know that people are working on it than just sit here and do nothing!" Ulrich answered._

"_You know what? Go to hell," said Kristian as he stormed off into his room, Ulrich right behind him._

_Kevin stared at the last person left in the room. His mother, Yumi, was crying._

…

"So what happened?" asked Caleb.

"He ran away."

…

"_Kris? Where you going?" Kevin asked._

_His brother had packed a big backpack full of clothes and everything that he had saved up that year. A total of 590 Euros. Not much but that was all he had._

"_Away," he answered._

_The three-year-old watched as his thirteen-year-old brother climbed out the window. The last thing he saw was his brother's face turning to him saying:_

"_I'll be back for you, Kev."_

…

"And what did your parents do?" asked Mina.

"They looked all over for him but they never found him. My parents tried to convince us that Kristian was never really our brother but a close family friend. Emma and Jin believed them but I was too old to forget him as my brother. I didn't want them to force me to forget about Kristian...so I pretended to forget. I never really did, though," he confessed.

"So did he really come back for you?" asked Aaren.

Kevin sighed.

"You could say that..."

…

_A six-year-old Kevin was currently backed up against the walls of Cité Scolaire Internationale. He shook in fear when he recognized the boy terrorizing him. The guy was a freakin' SENIOR! So were his other friends! Why was he terrorizing a SIX-YEAR-OLD? _

"_Hey, look! It's the Nazi's little brother! Hm, you don't look a lot like him, though," said the blonde boy._

"_Who are you talking about?" asked Kevin._

_Jacques flicked a finger onto Kevin's forehead and the little boy flinched._

"_Your freaking brother, Kristian," he told him._

_Kevin frowned._

"_Kristian? He's not my brother," Kevin lied._

_Jacques scoffed._

"_You're lying. And you know what happens to liars?" he asked with a smirk._

_Kevin shrugged. Jacques chuckled._

"_They get their asses kicked," he said._

_The two boys were about to lunge at him when Jacques heard a loud _click_ behind his head. He turned slowly and his eyes widened when he realized he was staring into the barrel of a pistol. His friends froze and all of them looked at the man currently holding the gun._

"_Holy shit," muttered Jacques._

_The man standing in front of him had smooth, brown hair, pale skin and a familiar smirk._

"_Kristian," Kevin exclaimed._

_The man flinched._

"_It's Kyo now," he said._

_Jacques and the other boys stared at the man in amazement. He wasn't the scrawny little thirteen-year-old he had been three years ago. At the age of sixteen, he was tall – probably 6 feet – he had more muscle, possibly the result of years of training. The man difference was that he wasn't scared or fearful, nor was he alone. There were two other men behind him, both as scary-looking as Kr- er, Kyo. Not afraid of what his brother had become, Kevin ran from the wall and to his brother's side._

"_Kris! They scared me! Please, tell them to go away!" he cried into Kyo's leg._

"_For the second time: It's _Kyo _now. Get it right," he said coldly._

_Kevin looked up and was about start screaming when Kyo smiled and patted his head. He stared at Jacques, the gun still poised in mid-air._

"_You won't be bothering this little one, right?" he asked in a sadistic tone._

_The two big men behind him cracked their knuckles. Jacques looked like he was about to scream but nodded. Kyo smirked._

"_Good. Now leave. I need to talk to Daisuke about something," he ordered._

_They complied with his wishes and ran like hell. Kyo smirked but Kevin looked confused._

"_Are you mad at me?" he asked._

_Kyo raised an eyebrow._

"_Why would I be mad at you, Daisuke?" he questioned._

"_Because you're calling me that," he pointed out._

"_What? Daisuke?" Kyo asked the little boy._

"_Yeah. Mom only calls me that when she's mad at me," he told him._

_Kyo smirked._

"_It's your Japanese name, Daisuke. That's why I'm calling you that. So? Are you ready?" he asked._

"_For what?"_

"_I said I'd come back for you. Are you ready?" he asked._

_Kevin looked at his brother then at the men behind him. He looked frightened and backed away slightly._

"_Daisuke?"_

_The six-year-old shook his head harshly._

"_No! I wanna stay here," he told Kyo, backing away from him._

_Kyo turned back to the men behind them. They just nodded. Kyo knelt in front of his little brother._

"_You're too young to make the decision for yourself. I'll come back when you're old enough and then I'll ask you again. Alright?" he asked._

_Kevin stared at him uncertainly before nodded. Kyo smiled at him before standing up straight and turning to leave. He paused for a moment and turned his head slightly to indicate that he was talking to him._

"_Daisuke, don't tell your parents that I was here, okay?" he asked._

_The six-year-old looked confused but nodded nonetheless. Kyo grinned at him and walked up to him._

"_Farewell, Daisuke," he said, ruffling his hair._

_He smiled and left. Kevin stared at his shrinking figure._

"_Bye."_

…

"And that's what happened," said Kevin.

"Wow, he's had it rough," said Mina in awe.

Kevin nodded.

"So what happened after that?" asked Caleb.

"We stayed there for a few more months and moved here to Kadic when I was eleven," he told them.

Aaren nodded.

"So that's it?" he asked.

"That's it. Don't tell Emma and Jin," he requested.

They all nodded.

"We won't."

…

A/N: If it's a little short, sorry. I'm busy and FINALLY got around to writing this down. See how much I love you guys?

Leave a review on your way out!


	44. XANA's Plans

A/N: Um, hey, guys! Here's another chapter of my story! Good (eh, idk. _Bad_ if you want it to be) news! Jace comes back in this chapter! YAY! ^-^ And guess what? We reveal XANA's. Master. Plan! Whoo! Now read!

...

Chapter 43

Jan. 8

It was a brilliant Sunday afternoon and the Lyoko Warriors were all sitting around one of the tables placed under one of the big trees in Kadic's courtyard (A/N: I really don't know if they actually have a courtyard. I just made this part up – fanfiction, remember?) Annie stood before the group, holding the binder. She looked nervous. Her hair was slightly messy, she was sweating and she looked tired. They all looked at her in concern.

"Annie? Are you alright?" asked Emma, walking up to her.

The pink-haired girl nodded and smiled at her friend.

"Yeah. It's just been a rough day finding all of this out," she answered.

Emma nodded and sat down next to Caleb.

"So...why did you bring us here?" asked Aaren.

The pinkette looked at Jasper uncertainly and he nodded.

"I don't know how to put this gently..." she trailed off.

"Just spit it out, sis," said Caleb.

Annie took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Jasper looked at her and gave her a reassuring nod. She smiled at him and sighed.

"Okay. Jasper and I have finally finished decoding the binder. It's taken us quite a few days but we're done," she told them.

"So? Isn't that good?" Mina asked in a confused tone.

Annie became silent. Kevin decided to speak up.

"There's something bad in it, isn't there?" he asked.

Annie stared at him before nodding.

"Yeah. We've found out what XANA's been planning," she said slowly.

"Continue," requested Mina.

Annie smiled nervously.

"Well, we've found out how XANA plans to destroy the world and everything else he's been planning for years," she told them.

"So what are his plans?" asked Aaren.

Annie took in a deep breath and stared at the table in front of them, placing the binder down. She sighed.

"XANA plans on destroying the world in 5 months on June 6th," she told them.

The group went silent. Of course, dropping such a heavy bombshell like that would _probably_ take some time to process through their brains. Kevin was the first to speak.

"How does he plan on destroying the world?" he asked calmly.

Annie glanced at him.

"He plans on hacking into a special satellite that will send out transmissions into the military computers of France, China, Russia, Korea and the United States. The five Nuclear Powers. He'll use their computers to hack into the system controlling their nuclear warheads and launch a nuclear war on the Earth. No one will be safe from the attack. Those that _do_ survive will possibly have to live with the effects of radiation given off by the nuclear weapons. Either way, mankind will not survive the attack," she told them gravely.

"Well, then. How the hell do we stop him?" asked Aaren, getting to his feet.

"Annie and I will make a few tweaks to the very same anti-virus program Annie fixed for me. We'll remove the virus from Kevin and – if we can capture her – Jace, too. After that, we'll just shut down the super computer and all this will be over," explained Jasper.

"If we fix Jace and Kevin – we fix our problem," said Annie.

They all stared at the pinkette and the redhead.

"So all our hopes are riding on the two of you," said Kevin.

Annie nodded sadly. Caleb got to his feet.

"I'll help the two of you out with the program. Three people working on it will get the thing done a lot faster," said the young Belpois.

"He's right. I can try to help from time to time," said Emma. "I know a thing or two about computers."

Annie nodded at both of them gratefully. Then an idea popped into Aaren's head.

"And while the four of you are working on it, Mina, Kevin and I will try to find out where Jace is staying. Hopefully, we'll find a way to contact her or something. I mean, if she's working for XANA, she'll have to be close to Kadic to make sure we don't screw around with his plans. Looks like she's acting as his bodyguard and spy," said the blonde boy..

Kevin stared at his best friend before nodding in agreement. Mina nodded, as well,

"So where do we start looking?" asked Kevin.

Annie shrugged.

"Aaren's right. She's probably staying near Kadic. I think we should look for abandoned buildings or probably a house somewhere in the forest near the factory," she told them.

"She may be staying with someone else, though. I doubt she can maintain long on her own unless she uses her credit card," said Aaren.

"Jace's probably in some sort of safe house. XANA would want to hide her existence and keep her whereabouts as secret," said Kevin.

"We'll start looking," said Aaren, turning to take off.

"Wait," said Annie.

The blonde stopped and turned back around.

"What?" he asked irritably.

"There's more," she said.

They all turned to stare at her.

"What more could there possibly be?" asked Mina.

Annie and Jasper looked at each other.

"We think that XANA's trying to creating a clone of himself in human form," she said.

"Well, can't he already do that?" asked Aaren.

Annie shook her head.

"No, Aaren. Not a polymorphic clone or possessing a person. No...this clone will be _human_. A human incarnation of XANA himself," she explained.

"But why would he want to make himself human? He thinks that humans are useless. He thinks that they're the reason why the world is in the sorry state that it's in right now," argued Caleb.

"Yes, but he won't be bound to the super computer anymore," Annie pointed out.

"And if he isn't bound, he can work outside of it to destroy the world without being able to be tracked by us," said Kevin.

They fell silent.

"So when do you think that he'll be able to clone an actual human?" asked Kevin, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Yeah. Scientists have been working hard to clone humans but still haven't come _close_," said Mina (A/N: Go with the flow).

Jasper shrugged.

"In about five months? Around the time that he plans on launching the nuclear warheads," said the redhead.

"But he'll be killed, too," said Mina.

"Maybe he's found a way to avoid the warheads. All we know is that he's been gathering DNA samples. That's why he attacked Jasper with the Scyphozoa, to get DNA codes. The only reason he'd want that is that he intends to create human life," said the pinkette.

"So what are we waiting for? Shouldn't we be getting to work?" asked Aaren.

They all shook their heads at his enthusiasm. Time to burst his bubble.

"Principle Delmas is taking roll call for all students today. If we don't show up for it, he's gonna check our rooms. If we're not in our rooms then he'll suspect something – or, at least, _Pete_ would – and they could possibly find out about the super computer and XANA. They'll shut it down and both my life and Jace's life will be at stake," Kevin reminded his friend (A/N: Making that part up – fanfiction ^_^).

Aaren groaned in frustration.

"UGH! Fine, then! You and your stupid virus! After roll call, we leave!" he exclaimed.

They didn't notice the little camera in the tree above them, that linked them directly to the person they were just trying to find.

…

A young girl with black hair and purple streaks was practicing her fighting against a punching bag in the make-shift gym she had created in the spare room of Katerina's small cottage. She had just reviewed what her former friends had been talking about and she was currently listening to their words, over and over again, when a tall man with brown hair burst in through the door, anger written all over his face. He grabbed her by the neck and had her pushed up against the wall, choking her.

Jace let out unrecognizable sounds as she struggled to breathe. A scream came from the doorway as Katerina witnessed what was happening. She ran to the XANA-possessed man and tried to pull him away. Finally, she managed to get XANA to release her and Jace fell to the ground, sputtering and taking in deep breaths of air. Katerina pushed him away from her and ran to her side. She grabbed her in her arms and checked her eyes and neck. Her throat was just starting to turn purple and her pupils became dilated before reverting back to their normal size. Jace held onto Katerina tightly, looking up at XANA in fear.

The man sighed angrily.

"Do you understand what you've DONE?" he shouted at her.

Jace was still breathing heavily but managed to get to her feet. XANA got all up in her face.

"You've given those brats the information they need to find out what I want and they're figuring out a way to stop me!" he yelled.

Jace flinched but stared back at him.

"No, I didn't! I know them, they interpreted the information wrong. They have the wrong idea! Your plan is safe!" she argued.

"You do NOT know that! They may have the wrong ideas but they definitely know my plans for destroying the world!" he screeched.

Jace stood her ground against him.

"They can't do anything if they don't have all the facts! Just listen!" she told him.

"_The only reason he'd want that is that he intends to create human life_," came Annie's voice.

XANA ignored the recording and pulled a small radio phone out of his pocket. Jace's eyes widened when she saw it.

"You remember this?" he asked evilly. "I just tell the man in Paris to push one...little...button. Then the 32 bombs in your father's 16-foot building will go KABOOM and hundreds of deaths will be on your hands," he told her.

Jace took in a deep breath.

"No more tricks. No helping your little friends out. You do all my orders without so much as a word. Do we have an understanding?" he asked.

Jace nodded.

"Okay, fine. You win. I'll do whatever you want," she said.

XANA smiled.

"Well, _you're_ not going to do anything, right now. Just sit by and take the consequences."

Jace watched as smoke flew out of the tip of XANA's finger and flew out the window, towards Kadic.

…

"Jasper De Luna!"

"Here."

"Aaren Della Robbia."

"Here."

"This is completely pointless," Aaren whispered in Kevin's ear.

The dark-haired boy rolled his eyes at his friend but nodded either way.

"Kevin Stern."

"Here."

"I mean, seriously! We should be out there! Looking for my freaking sister!" Aaren whispered harshly.

"Aaren! Just because you are the principle's grandson does _not_ give you the right to disrupt the class!" scolded Mrs. Meyer.

The class snickered and Aaren stuck his tongue out at the other kids in his class.

"Aaren!" snapped Mrs. Meyer.

"What?" he asked.

"No more disruptions!" said the teacher.

"Miss, I'm not-"

"Aaren!"

"I'm not-"

"Aaren!"

"But I-"

"Mr. Della Robbia!" warned Mrs. Meyer.

Aaren crossed his arms across his chest with a pout.

"Thank you," Mrs. Meyer said in exasperation.

Half the class laughed. Kevin sighed.

"Idiot," he mumbled.

Jasper laughed at his friends. Class went on and it was boring. In the middle of their discussion about parallelograms the redhead wrinkled his nose as a strange smell filled his nose. He looked around, searching for the source of the smell. He looked up and noticed that it was coming from the vents. He turned to his Aaren and Kevin.

"Hey, guys?" he asked his friends.

"Yeah?" asked Aaren.

"What's up?" asked Kevin.

"Is it just me or do I smell smoke?"

…

A/N: Oh, what is XANA up to? I can tell you one thing! The next chapter is going to be SO intense and you might wanna prepare yourself for some major violence and emotional turmoil!

But before you do that...REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!

PLEASE! (^-^)


	45. Consequences and Surprises

A/N: WARNING! This chapter contains violence (_no, sh*t_) not suitable for readers under the age of 13 (_like anyone listens to me!)_ so remember: PARENTAL GUIDANCE (_half of these readers' parents don't even _know_ they're on the site! -_-*)_! Thank you! XD

Chapter 44

Aaren, Jasper and Kevin looked up and noticed that smoke was coming through the vents.

"A fire?" whispered Aaren.

"I think so," said Jasper.

"Maybe it's one of XANA's plans," suggested Kevin.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out discreetly so that the teacher wouldn't notice. He check the message that he got.

_Annie: Activated tower._

Kevin turned to his friends.

"Annie said that XANA's activated a tower," he told them.

"Then we should go," said Jasper.

"Well, what are we gonna do? _Run_ out of class?" Aaren asked in a sarcastic tone.

!

"Was that the fire alarm?" asked the blonde.

Mrs. Meyer stood as did the rest of the class.

"Alright, everyone! Get in a single file line in front of the door," she said.

The students obeyed her command but did it in a sort of a frenzy. They were just beginning to notice that smoke was coming through the vents. A lot of them were mumbling worriedly. Mrs. Meyer opened the door and began to lead the kids out of the school. The hallways were full of people and many of the teachers were calling out to their students to get in a line when a loud explosion came from the side of the building.

"What the hell was that?" asked Aaren.

Pete came running down the halls yelling at everyone to exit the building as quickly as they could. He was passing by the boys when Kevin gripped his hand. He turned to the young boy in annoyance.

"What, Stern?" he asked harshly.

"What happened?" Kevin replied.

"Some wire in one of the electrical circuit when crazy and blew up. There's a major fire and the building's not very stable so get your butts out of here!" he told them before taking off.

Kevin turned to his friends and headed for the exit. They noticed that some parts of the building's ceiling were breaking off and hitting the ground. Most of the school was already out so they were one of the few.

"The building's going to collapse," said Aaren.

The two other boys nodded. Jasper's phone went off and he checked it.

"Annie said to meet at the factory. This is probably all of XANA's doing," said the redhead.

They were closing in on the exit when Kevin noticed a little boy – probably a sixth-grader – sitting against the wall, holding his leg. He was crying. Kevin stopped and started towards him. Jasper and Aaren noticed his absence and turned around. They saw him putting the boy's arm around his shoulder. In an instant, they were there, taking the boy away from him.

"What happened?" asked Aaren.

"A piece of the ceiling fell in front of him and he tripped, spraining his leg. There might be more people in here. I'll go check them," said Kevin.

Jasper grabbed his arm.

"Kev, that's the firemen's jobs. Leave it up to them," he told him.

Kevin pulled his arm back.

"You guys go to Lyoko and try to stop XANA. Remember: If someone dies in the real world, a Return to the Past won't bring them back," he said before taking off.

Jasper shook his head but helped Aaren drag the boy out of the school and handed him over to a paramedic. There was a loud crashing sound and everyone turned to look at the entrance of the school. It had caved in. Jasper and Aaren looked at each other worriedly.

"Let's go. He'll find a way out," said the blonde.

Jasper nodded uncertainly and they both ran into the woods, heading for the factory.

…

Jace looked out the window and saw the smoke coming from the school. She looked at XANA in alarm.

"You set the school on _fire_?" she asked.

She was about to run out the door when XANA pulled her by the hood of her jacket. She stumbled, trying to keep from toppling over. Finally, she got stable and turned to XANA.

"I got a job for you," he said, opening the door to the laboratory.

Jace stared at him uncertainly as he motioned for her and Katerina to follow him. When they got down to the lab, XANA moved a big white shelf and there was a room behind it with a big cylindrical-shaped object in the middle next to a giant computer.

_What the hell?_

...

Kevin coughed once. The smoke was getting to him. Thankfully, he hadn't found anyone yet. He had been in there for five minutes and his exits were all closed. He ran into the nearest classroom and closed the door shut, pulling off his t-shirt while keeping his green undershirt on. He took the shirt and stuffed it in the space between the bottom of the door and the floor, blocking out some of the smoke. Thankfully, he was in a room that had not yet been affected by the smoke. He heard movement behind him and turned around. He came face to face with five men whose eyes all held the same symbol.

The Eye of XANA.

…

Jasper and Aaren ran into the computer room. Annie was there on the computer. She looked up at them and looked worried.

"Caleb, Emma and Mina are already in Lyoko. Where's Kevin?" she asked.

"He's still in the building. We need to get this tower de-activated fast or he'll die from lack of oxygen," said Aaren.

"Get in the scanners. I'll transfer you to the Polar Region," Annie said.

They both nodded and climbed down the ladder and got into the scanner room. Both boys got into a scanner and Annie started up the virtualization process.

"Transfer Aaren. Transfer Jasper."

"Scanner Aaren. Scanner Jasper."

"Virtualization."

Jasper and Aaren landed on their feet and noticed that Caleb, Mina and Emma were standing in front of them. Caleb nodded at them when they got to their feet.

"The tower's just up ahead. Let's go," he said.

They all agreed and started running when Annie's screen started beeping.

"Guys. Six monsters up ahead. There's also another anomaly. Tell me what you see," she said.

The five of them ran up towards the tower and finally saw the monsters. Two Krabes. Three Kankrelats and a Tarantula. The body standing next to them shocked them to hell and back.

"Guys, what do you see?" asked Annie.

Jasper gulped and stared at the girl just a few meters away from them. She had long black hair with orange highlights, a black tank top, and black shorts. She was armed with an orange and black crossbow and had giant black wings. Instead of pupils, her eyes held the Eye of XANA.

"Annie...Jace is here. On Lyoko."

..

Kevin was knocked to the floor. He noticed that he was bleeding from his mouth. He grunted and got back to his feet. He didn't recognize any of the men who had attacked them. They were muscled and had tanned skin. They looked like sailors, judging from the scars on their faces. Two of them managed to grab his arms and held him to the ground.

The biggest man – who Kevin assumed was the leader – held a long, steel brand with the Eye of XANA as the symbol. By now, the door had caught fire. The window was open but they were already so high up that if he jumped he could break something and possibly die. The man stuck the brand in the fire until it burned a bright orange and moved towards Kevin.

"This will show you what happens when you go against XANA."

…

Jasper, Mina Aaren were handling the monsters while Caleb and Emma were handling Jace. Her wings had given her the ability to fly and she was dodging every single shot Caleb shot at her. She even managed to avoid Emma's giant fan. The brunette took another shot at Jace, spinning around to throw the enormous fan. It spun towards Jace but the possessed female managed to dodge it again. The fan spun a U-turn and Emma caught it when it came to her. She stumbled back a little from the weight and when she looked up at Jace, all she saw was an array of glowing orange arrows flying towards her. She dodged left but couldn't avoid one of the arrows. It managed to hit her on the shoulder.

Annie's screen beeped and an image of Emma's body along with her card showed it on the screen. Her shoulder area was blinking red.

"Emma! You just lost _forty_ life points. Jace's arrows are dangerous! Try to stay away from them at all costs! That goes for all of you!" she warned them.

"Got it!" shouted Aaren as he teleported onto a boulder to avoid a Krabe's laser.

By now, Jasper and Aaren had extinguished all the Kankrelats and the Krabe. Mina had managed to destroy the Tarantula. Aaren was down to forty life points, Mina had fifty and Jasper still had all his life points. Mina jumped up and dug her sword into the last Krabe's Eye, causing it to explode. She landed on her feet next to Aaren and all of them looked at the being floating in mid-air.

"Jace! Snap out of it! XANA's controlling you!" he shouted.

The floating being just shook her head.

"No. He's not," she said in a soft, distorted voice.

All five of them had to run for cover as she awarded them with another onslaught of arrows. Emma threw her fan at Jace again before getting hit by two arrows and de-virtualizing. Aaren teleported upwards but still managed to get hit by an arrow and was de-virtualized as well. Caleb got hit three times and was de-virtualized, too. Mina took an arrow to her leg, losing forty life points but she was still in Lyoko. Jasper got hit twice and his life points were lowered to twenty.

All three scanners opened with a _hiss_ and Aaren, Emma and Caleb all fell down, exhausted. Aaren managed to look up at his friends.

"What the hell just happened?"

…

Kevin's face was pressed tightly against the floor. The smoke and the heat was beginning to make him sweat and cough but it hadn't affected the men possessed by XANA. They had him down on the ground and the man holding the brand was grinning.

"Lift his shirt," he ordered.

One of the men walked forward and lifted his shirt up, revealing the pale skin of his back. Kevin struggled against the men holding him down, trying to get away. The leader lowered the brand down, moving it closer to his back. Finally, the hot metal collided with pale skin and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air, blocking out the smell of the smoke.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Kevin screamed in agony, trying his best to get the brand away from his body. His eyes widened and he bit his lip until he bled as he struggled to fight against the enormous men holding him down before collapsing from exhaustion. The man pulled the brand away from Kevin's back and his henchmen let go of Kevin, backing away slowly. The boy writhed in pain and coughed out blood. There was a cracking sound as the door to the classroom was busted down. Kevin managed to crack his eyelids open and heard people yelling and shouting. It sounded like they were speaking in Japanese. He lifted his head slightly and saw a tall man with brown hair and pale skin holding a sheath.

Kyo Kobayashi. He was with two other men. Kevin watched as his brother pulled a long, thin sword out of the sheath and quickly decapitated the largest man without hesitation. The other two men took care of the remaining thugs. Kevin saw their bodies hit the floor one after another as the Yakuza members killed them one by one. They slashed at the men until they were nothing but pieces of flesh. Kevin felt someone lift him up and saw his brother yell at the Yakuza members to get out. They all ran out the door and headed for exit when a giant piece of concrete from the ceiling fell on top Kyo and Kevin, trapping the bottom half of their bodies under solid rock.

Kyo's other members turned to help them but the ceiling caved in and separated them them.

"Ugh! Damnit!" Kyo shouted.

Kevin was already weakening and lifted his head just enough to look at his brother. Kyo looked down at him and smirked sadly. Kevin, for once, smiled at him.

"Thanks, bro," he said before succumbing to the darkness.

…

It was like everything had stopped. Jasper and Mina had been dodging arrows left and right. The navy-haired girl had tried to throw one of her swords at Jace when the girl just vanished. She had literally disappeared in a whirl of black feathers. They had swirled around her like a tornado and she with that, she had vanished.

"Get to the tower," Mina ordered.

Jasper nodded and ran into the tower. He passed through and ran to the middle of the platform where he was brought to the second platform. A screen popped up and he placed his hand on it.

JASPER

CODE:

L-Y-O-K-O

"Return to the Past now."

...

They were back to yesterday and whole gang was looking for Kevin.

"Where did he go?" asked Caleb.

Finally, he showed up and there was one big difference about him that they noticed.

"Whoa! You cut your hair!" said Aaren.

"I like it," commented Mina.

"Thanks," he said, feeling his bare neck. "I did it for Kyo. In the Kobayashi clan, they cut their hair as a sign of thanks to their superiors. He saved my life and I just thought that I should do it."

"Well, I think that it suits you," said Emma.

"Yeah, yeah. Well, let's get to class," said Caleb.

They all nodded and laughed. Kevin slowed down and fell to the back. When they were far enough, he ran into the bathroom and pulled his shirts off. He turned his back to the mirror and stared at his back.

The brand had transformed into a tattoo. The Eye of XANA was about a square foot big and was a deep black color. Kevin sighed.

"I wonder if Jace got it, too."

...

A/N: I really hope I didn't disappoint! BTW, pictures of what I picture Kevin and Jasper to be are up on my profile so check it out! I'm working on the rest so be patient!

Jasper:

i1189(dot)photobucket(dot)com/albums/z430/effinemo13/SGR/Jasper(dot)png

Kevin:

i1189(dot)photobucket(dot)com/albums/z430/effinemo13/SGR/Kevin(dot)png

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!


	46. First Game

A/N: Guys, I made a **mistake!** Let's just say that the soccer game was postponed until later in the year! I know soccer season is usually earlier in the school year but I kinda forgot it. My bad. Just go along with whatever I say! ^_^ I might change it later on!

...

Chapter 45

Time Skip: February 2

Kadic's soccer team was sitting in the locker room of their school. It was the first game of the season and Jacob was giving them the normal pep talk he always gave.

"We've trained hard for this moment, team," Aaren whispered in Caleb's ear.

"We've trained hard for this moment, team," Jacob started.

Aaren and Caleb snickered. Kevin smirked.

"The team out there? They've got nothing on us! We're the number one school soccer team in France and there's no way that's going to change! They know us as the best, so let's go out there and BE the best!" he said.

The team cheered and started walking out of the locker room. Mina was waiting outside for them since she was a girl and couldn't go in there with the boys. Aaren ran up to her.

"Hey, babe," he greeted her, placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Hey, ready?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Let's go, lovebirds! The game's about to start!" shouted Caleb.

…

Annie, Jasper and Emma were standing in the bleachers with numerous other people. Stephanie and Lizzy were part of the cheerleaders and were flipping around and cheering for the home team. Scores of people were shouting from the bleachers.

The players of Kadic and their adversary, Eucon International (A/N: Made this up. It's a school where I live ^_^), were spread out on the playing field. Caleb and Kevin were playing Forward. Jacob was the Left Mid-Fielder, Matthew was the Right Mid-Fielder and Patrick was the Middle Mid-Fielder. Mina and another player named Kyle were the Defenders (Guards, if you want) and Aaren was the Goalie. The ball was placed at the center of the field and the referee blew the whistle. Kevin and Caleb ran forward while the other team's Forwards darted forward and tried to get the ball. Kevin managed to get to the ball first and kicked it to Matthew who had run up ahead. Matthew got the ball and took the shot but the goalie managed to save it and kicked it back across the field.

The Mid-Fielders and Forwards from Eucon charged the ball but couldn't manage to get past Mina and Kyle so the ball fell back into Kadic's possession. Caleb caught the ball and kicked it to Jacob who kicked it to Kevin who, in turn, charged it forward and – at the last second – kicked it to Caleb who got past the Defenders and scored.

"0-1. Kadic!" shouted the referee.

The crowd in the bleachers cheered in approval.

"Whoo! Yeah! Kick their asses, Kadic!" shouted Jasper.

Emma and Annie gave him a strange look. He looked back at them.

"What? Aaren's growing on me," he answered.

The ball was placed back at the center and the referee blew the whistle. The Forwards rushed towards the ball and it fell into Eucon's possession. One of the Forwards – a girl with blonde hair – ran forward and managed to get past Kadic's Defenders before taking the shot. Aaren tried to catch it but missed.

"1-1!" shouted the referee.

Most of the crowd booed while some of the Eucon supporters cheered.

"Come on, Aaren! Pick up that pace!" shouted Jasper.

"I don't think this is the real Jasper," Emma whispered in Annie's ear.

"Maybe he's been XANA-fied," she replied.

Jasper gave them a blank stare.  
"I can hear you, y'know," he told them.

"Yeah, we know," they answered in unison.

The ball was placed back in the center and Kadic gained possession. Kevin kicked the ball to Jacob who passed it to Matthew who got blocked by one of the Defenders and kicked it in the air. Caleb used his head to hit the ball and Kevin did a sort of sideways flip to kick the ball right behind the goalie's head. The ball hit the net and the sound of a whistle could be heard as the referee called that as a score.

"1-2! Kadic!" he shouted.

…

It was forty minutes into the second half and the score was 39-41, Kadic leading by 2. The ball was placed at the center and the whistle was blown. Eucon took possession and charged it down the field. One of the players managed to get past the Defenders but when he took the shot, Aaren managed to catch it. He kicked the ball across the field and Kevin managed to get to it. He charged it down the field and all the Mid-Fielders ran to Eucon's side of the field. He kicked the ball left and right, dodging the Mid-Fielders and the Defenders. With a flick of his foot, the ball shot towards the goal and flew right under the goalie's arm.

"39-42! Kadic!"

The crowd cheered and the cheerleaders did flips and cheers.

"Yeah! Go, Kevin! Beat the crap out of them, stick their freaking faces in the goddamn ground and-"

"OKAY! Jesus, Jasper! We get it, you're excited!" shouted Emma.

Annie laughed.

"Personally, I think it's cute," she whispered in her friend's ear.

Emma rolled her eyes and Jasper pouted.

"Is it so wrong to show a little school spirit?" Jasper asked quietly.

Emma and Annie had to laugh at that.

The ball was put back in the center and it was put into play. After four more minutes, the score was tied, 43-43. The ball was put in the center and the whistle was blown. Eucon managed to gain possession and the ball was charged towards the goal. The kid took the shot and Aaren managed to grab it.

Jasper looked down at his watch.

"Kevin! Thirty seconds!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

The black-haired boy managed to catch his friend's words and motioned for Aaren to throw it high. The blonde threw the ball, with all his strength, up in the air and across the field. It was still a good thirty feet high up when Kevin motioned for Caleb to run forward. The blonde nodded when he recognized the play that Kevin wanted. The two of them rushed towards the falling ball. It was now less than fifteen feet up. Caleb beat all of them to the place it was most likely to land and fell down on one knee, his back forming a slope. Kevin jumped on his back and did a flip in mid-air. His foot hit the ball with a distinct _whack_ and it flew straight into the goal. Everyone was silent for a full second before they heard a single word that ignited their joy.

"Whoo!"

The crowd cheered in unison and the referee blew the whistle, signaling the end of the game. Everyone in the bleachers ran down and lifted all the players in their arms. Caleb and Aaren laughed as they rode the crowd in a sort of wave. Kevin and Jacob were congratulating each other on the game.

"Good job, Stern," said Jacob.

"You, too, Captain," Kevin said with a smirk.

Jacob laughed and shouted in joy, cheering along with the crowd.

"Kadic's number one! Kadic's number one! Kadic's number one!"

…

A/N: Yeah, just wanted to put that part in. Sorry if it's a little short. Had exams this entire week so I'm lucky to update today. Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks to Akioni Babauta (musiclover670), Andrea Camacho and my U.S. History teacher, Ms. Herber for helping with the soccer positions and functions!

Please review!


	47. Talents

Chapter 46

The Lyoko Warriors were walking through the school hallways when Aaren noticed a poster on the wall.

"Hey, guys! Look over here!" he called to his friends.

The young students walked lazily to Aaren's side and took a look at the poster.

"A talent contest? Are you serious?" asked Kevin.

"Hey! It looks fun!" he argued.

"Whatever," mumbled the young Stern.

"It actually looks kinda fun. The talents listed include: singing, dancing, musical instruments, magical talents and many others. Hey, maybe we can try it out," suggested Mina.

"Yeah! We would kick Lizzy's ass!" exclaimed Aaren.

"But you kick her ass in _everything_! You actually beat her in academics and _that's_ saying something," said Emma.

"Oh, you're mean," teased Aaren.

The brunette whacked the back of his head with a loud _thack_!

"Ow!"

"You asked for it," she mumbled.

Aaren rubbed the back of his head.

"Damn, woman. Keep your hands to yourself. I'm gonna call the police and report you for domestic violence," said Aaren.

Emma just raised an eyebrow at him.

"Try it and see what happens," she warned him.

He stuck his tongue out at her. She raised a fist and he darted behind Mina.

"Babe, save me from your psychotic friend!" he begged her.

The navy-haired girl laughed and wrapped and arm around him, turning to Emma.

"Emma, leave my boyfriend alone. I'm going to need him later on," she told him.

"Yeah, Emma! Leave me alone!" said Aaren.

"Oh, Jesus Christ!" exclaimed Annie.

"Back to the stupid poster! Do you think we should join?" asked Caleb.

"I think that it's a good idea for you guys," said Emma.

"What? You're not going to join?" asked Aaren.

"No. My science teacher just dumped a truck load of homework on our class and I'm no genius like Annie or Jasper so that's all I'll be able to focus on for the next week or so," she explained.

Mina nodded in understanding.

"So, what song will we be singing for the talent show?" asked Kevin.

"Oh, you guys won't be singing," came a high-pitched voice that was immediately recognized.

The whole gang turned around to face the voice's owner.

"And why not?" asked Aaren.

"Because I just asked Gramps to ban you guys from singing in the talent show. I told him that if he banned you guys I would get a B on my final exam for Algebra," she told them.

"What? There's no way you were able to get a B in that class," said Aaren.

"You'd be amazed at how good my brain works when it's set on ruining your life," she retorted.

"You evil little-"

"So what? We don't need to participate in the talent show anyway," said Mina.

"Well, I already told the whole school that you were _and _that half your outfits would be nerds. Not only that, you'll have to perform the piece with that nerd, Todd or something. If you guys don't come up with something in two weeks, you'll look like such idiots and _I_ will be the happiest girl in Kadic," she said before leaving.

The entire group glared at her retreating figure.

"I'm going to murder her," said Mina.

Aaren wrapped a hand around her waist.

"Calm down, babe. Killing her will only land you in jail and I will only be able to visit you once a day," he told her.

She sighed and crossed her arms across her chest.

"So what are you guys going to do?" asked Emma.

"I don't know. I can't do any magic tricks or any stuff like that," said Aaren.

"Well, how about break dancing?" suggested Mina.

"Yeah, we all already know that Kevin can break it down," said Aaren with a laugh.

Kevin launched a punch at the blonde's gut and he bent over in pain. Annie looked thoughtful.

"That's actually not too bad of an idea. And the outfits don't all have to be _that_ ugly. We can just improvise," said the pinkette.

"Hey, um. Am I part of this group?" asked Jasper.

"Sure," said Mina.

"Cool. Now what about that Todd dude?" asked Caleb.

"He's not that bad. We'll just work with him and give him a couple of simple moves," said Aaren.

"Sounds good."

"I know, right?"

Two weeks later...

It was the day of the talent show and the Code Breakers were standing behind the stage. One thing that everyone had really noticed about them was their outfits. Of course, Kevin had refused to dress-up and was currently wearing a long-sleeve black shirt and black pants with a black hat on his head. Jasper had on an opened black dress shirt over a white shirt, black pants and a black tie. Annie had on a normal white shirt and jeans.

Caleb, Mina and Aaren, on the other hand...were totally different. Aaren was wearing black suspenders over an orange t-shirt, fake, gigantic orange glasses, orange sneakers and long socks. Caleb wore the same thing except that he had on a blue shirt and blue glasses along with a blue hat. Mina had on black suspenders over a white shirt, sneakers, big red glasses and she had her hair up in ponytails. They were indeed a sight to see.

Todd, too, was dressed up as a nerd but he was actually wearing glasses, jeans with a green shirt tucked in. His normal clothing. The talent show was started and guess who was called up first?

Elizabeth Della Robbia.

Lizzy sang – correction, _tried_ to sing – 'The Only Exception' by Paramore. She even incorporated a sort of ballet dance into it but from the sound of the crowd snickering, it wasn't going too well.

"She's making a fool out of herself!" exclaimed Aaren.

"Well, doesn't she always?" asked Caleb.

"Well, usually she doesn't do it in front of the entire school," muttered Aaren.

Finally, Lizzy's grueling performance came to the end and the crowd clapped slowly.

"Yeah! They're clapping because it's over!" shouted Aaren.

Lizzy walked backstage and smiled triumphantly.

"Your turn," she said before departing.

"That girl needs a hard hit to her self-esteem," muttered Mina.

"Next up! Doing..._break dance _performance! Kadic's very own...CODE BREAKERS!" shouted Pete who was the MC for the talent show.

There was a low murmuring as Jasper, Caleb, Aaren and Todd lined up on one side of the stage and Kevin, Mina and Annie lined up on the other.

"Wait, are they _serious_?"

"There's no way."

"Why's _Todd_ with them?"

The track started and the sound of a bell ringing came on. Both sides approached the middle and the song 'You're a Jerk' came on. The crowd laughed at the funny moves that the group was doing and Lizzy huffed angrily.

_They're supposed to be horrible!_

Many other songs like 'Pretty Boy Swag' and 'I'm a Nerd' followed and the dance was hilarious because Aaren was – on purpose – making various mistakes and acting like a total dunce just to improvise for the parts he couldn't remember. They ended the dance with Kevin doing back flips and back hand springs and Caleb finishing with a flare.(A/N: If you wanna see the dance as I imagine it, go to the bottom for the link)

The crowd erupted in applause and Pete came up to the stage.

"Okay! Looks like it's unanimous! The winners of the talent show are...CODE BREAKERS!"

The crowd cheered louder than before and Aaren yelled happily, jumping on top of Kevin, causing him to fall. Kevin got to his feet and punched Aaren's arm. The blonde ignored him and went over to hug and kiss his girlfriend.

"Yeah! We won!" Jasper rejoiced, hugging Annie.

She smiled and hugged him back. Pete went up to them and gave them a golden trophy. Aaren took it happily and raised it high.

Two days later...

The group was standing out in Kadic's courtyard studying for some tests.

"I don't get it," said Aaren.

"You never get it," said Kevin.

"This freaking test in Geometry is so hard!"

"It's just slopes."

"That's what YOU think!" said Aaren.

The group was laughing at the arguement when they were approached by a young boy. He was about fourteen with platinum blonde hair, green eyes wearing a white shirt, pants and sneakers holding a black bag. He tapped Emma's shoulder and she turned around.  
"Yes?" she asked cheerily.

"I was wondering if one of you guys could point me towards C103?" he asked.

Emma smiled.

"Oh, sure. Just go past the A building which is just a turn down that hallway and it should be there after walking for about three minutes," she told him, pointing towards the A building.

"Thank you," he said.

"Yo, Ven!" came a shout.

The group and the boy turned around to see four boys walking towards them. Two of them looked about 17, had brown hair and looked exactly alike. The other two looked a year younger, had platinum blonde hair like the boy in front of them and were another set of twins. The boy who had just asked Emma for directions waved.

"Hey, Justin, Zach, Aidan, Shawn!" he called.

Kevin and the others balked, recognizing the names.

"Wait a minute," said Kevin. "Justin? Zach? Aidan? Shawn? Are you guys Mr. Trevelyan's sons?"

One of the older boys nodded.

"Yeah, I'm Aidan. This is my twin brother Shawn. That's Justin and Zachary but we just call him Zach. That's my little brother you were talking to," he said, pointing each of his siblings out.

"So, if _you're _their brother...then you must be..." Aaren trailed off, pointing at the boy in front of them.

"Ventus. My name's Ventus but everyone just calls me Ven. It's weird but hey, I'm not the one who named me," he said.

The group just nodded. Aidan smiled at them.

"Thanks for helping my little brother out," he said, before pulling his brother along with him.

"Bye!" said Ventus, waving at them.

They waved back at him weakly. When they were gone Aaren let out a huge sigh.

"_That's_ Ventus?" he asked loudly.

"I'm guessing so," said Kevin.

"He looks nothing like Jasper," said Annie.

"So that means..." Mina trailed off.

Jasper sighed.

"That Draco can't be my brother."

...

A/N: Ha! How do you like the new twist?

Oh, and here's the link for the dance. The outfits are the same ones I mentioned but if you can't figure that out, here's a guide to who I want to be my characters:

Boy with Orange shirt – Aaren

Boy with Blue shirt – Caleb

Boy with Black Long-Sleeve and hat - Kevin

Boy with Tie – Jasper

Boy with Green Shirt – Todd

Girl with Suspenders & Pigtails – Mina

Girl with White shirt – Annie

These guys are the kids at my school dancing during Pep Rally. I just really like their dance even though it's not professional or anything. ^_^

Link: www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=dqo_EtznYUQ

REVIEW!


	48. Activated Tower

A/N: Sorry for the late update, guys. I've recently became very sick. Coughing, fever, headaches. Yeah, it sucks being sick. I even had to go to the hospital because I was so sick that I could barely walk, let alone write this down. I'm feeling slightly better now so I tried to write this chapter down to the best of my ability. Sorry it it's short.

...

Chapter 47

"So if Draco's not my brother then where the heck does that leave us at?" asked Jasper.

They were sitting in the cafeteria, eating breakfast. They had wasted the whole morning conversing about the possibilities of Jasper's past and so far, they had drawn a blank. Annie put down her croissant and shrugged at him.

"I don't know, Jasper. For now, let's just focus on getting the anti-virus program ready," she suggested.

"Uh, you guys won't have much time to do that. Today, you guys are going to that field trip to that Science Museum. It's required for all of Ms. Hertz's students which means that all the 8th graders are going there today," Mina reminded them.

Emma stood up straight, nearly falling off of her chair.

"Oh, crap! That's today? Man, I forgot all about it. She's making us take notes about all the bones, dinosaurs and all that other stuff we learned about in Science," she complained.

"Oh, yeah. Well, we'll have you guys here in case anything goes wrong and Caleb can run the super computer so you guys won't have any real problems other than XANA himself," said Annie.

"Well, then. Let's hope nothing goes wrong," said Aaren as he downed another croissant.

"Geez, don't you ever stop eating?" asked Kevin.

"If I did then I'd be dead in a week. Probably less," he answered with a straight face.

The dark-haired boy rolled his eyes and resumed his usual position of crossing his arms across his chest.

"You're ridiculous," he said.

"Shut up," Aaren retorted.

The sound of the bell ringing made them get to their feet and pull on their backpacks.

"Bye, guys. See you after your wonderful day with the lovely Ms. Hertz!" Aaren teased.

Emma launched a punch at his head but he ducked.

"Hey, watch the face! It took me years to get it to this perfection!" he joked, striking a pose for added effect.

Kevin took the opportunity and slapped the back of his head.

"Ow! Damn! You know what, Kev? You and your sister are the reason I'm failing my classes!" he shouted.

"How is that?" Kevin asked.

His face straightened.

"Brain damage," he said matter-of-factly, pointing at his head.

Emma and the rest of the group laughed as they went their separate ways.

…

Jasper, Annie and Emma were on the same bus. Annie and Jasper sat up front with Emma sitting by herself right behind her.

"How much longer to the museum?" asked Jasper.

Emma laughed.

"You actually seem excited, Jazz," she said.

He nodded enthusiastically. Annie smiled.

"Well, prepare to be disappointed, Jazz. Science may be interesting in some parts but the way Ms. Hertz leads the class, you'll be half-asleep by the end of the day. I hope she let's us go off on our own, though. That way, we won't be quite as bored," she said.

Jasper shrugged.  
"I just wanna see the dinosaur bones," he answered.

"Okay, _those_ are kind of fun to see," Emma agreed.

Annie smiled.

"I like seeing the plants," she said.

"Oh! Do you think they'll let me take some back to Kadic?" asked Jasper.

Both girls rolled their eyes but smiled at him, either way.

…

The sound of chairs scraping against marble could be heard as a young teen girl with purple-highlighted hair pulled a giant chair towards a big shelf. At the top was one of the books she needed to help her decode some things within the super computer Katerina had made from scratch behind the shelf in the woman's laboratory. Due to her height – or rather _lack_ of – Jace had to drag a chair across the room to get a damn book.

"Maybe I should ask Katerina to build me stilts. God!" she said, reaching for the book.

She finally got a hold of it when she heard the door open. Surprised by the sudden sound, she lost her balance and fell off of the chair, landing on her butt. The book landed right next to her.

"Ow," she muttered.

She turned her head to see who had entered.

"Oh, hey, Kat," she said, calling the woman by the nickname she had recently started calling her by.

The woman smiled at her and removed her lab coat, optioning for a regular brown coat. When she turned, Jace saw the bulge of her stomach and smiled.

"How many months are you again?" she asked.

Katerina looked down and placed a hand on her stomach.

"So far? Five months. Soon, I'll be able to find out whether it's a girl or boy," she said happily.

Jace smiled, happy for her friend. She was sure that Katerina would be a wonderful mother. Thinking of the child on the way, she frowned uncertainly.

"Maybe you should look into getting some prenatal care for the baby. You know, medicine, exercises and all that stuff," she suggested.

Katerina smiled.

"I can take care of myself. I've gone to medical school, remember? I know what I need to do. You should know by now that I've been watching my diet and taking my medication," she answered reassuringly.

Jace shrugged.

"I'm just worried about the baby. My mother made such a big deal out of taking her meds that it became ridiculous," she told her friend.

The young girl got to her feet, picking up her book. Katerina grabbed an umbrella and started towards the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Jace, dusting off her pants.

"Out. Would you like to follow me?" she asked.

Jace smirked.

"You know that I shouldn't be seen in public, Kat. Besides, I'm needed here to run the super computer," she answered.

Katerina shrugged.

"Suit yourself," she said, walking out the door.

Jace sighed and walked towards the shelf in the lab and opened the door to the super computer. When the shelf moved, she sighed, staring at the piece of technology like it was the Black Plague or something. She vaguely wondered how badly she would get in trouble from XANA if she 'accidentally' tripped over and snapped one of the wires. A vibration from her pocket snapped her out of her daydream and made her take out her cellphone. She looked down at the message sent to her by none other than...XANA.

_ACTIVATE TOWER NOW._

Jace sighed and sat in the super computer's seat. Normally, XANA could do this by himself but he was so busy getting his plan together that she had to manually activate the tower. Jace pressed a few keys and the screen instantly zoomed in on one of the towers. Specifically, the one located in the Mountain Region. After a few minutes of clicking, the tower lit up and a loud buzzing sound came from the screen. She bit her lip and entered the code for a delayed virtualization. She walked over to the scanner that was right next to the computer and stepped inside, turning around.

"The rest is up to you , XANA," she said.

She closed her eyes as she felt a puff of strong air move upwards from the little screen at the bottom of the scanner. She felt herself being virtualized and was materialized in the Mountain Region. She stretched her limbs and her wings stretched out in reaction. She sighed and waited. Hornets fluttered above her and three Tarantulas came to her side. She frowned at them but shrugged to herself.

"Here we go, again."

…

Caleb was in first period when a faint beeping sound came from his laptop. He quickly took it out and opened it. A red exclamation mark within a circle showed up and pulled his cell phone out. He texted quickly and sent a message to Kevin, Mina and Aaren.

_XANA attack. Get to factory quick._

_- Caleb_

After sending the message he raised his hand.

"Ms. Kensington? May I be excused?" he asked.

…

Ms. Hertz had let the students roam around the museum during the field trip and Jasper had wandered off on his own. He was busy looking at all the dinosaur and atomic models, fascinated by the amount of work and detail put into them. He saw a woman in a brown coat with red hair standing near one of the mechanical structures of human DNA. He walked to her side and stared at the model.

"This is so cool," he mumbled.

He heard the lady laugh.

"Fascinated?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Very. Science is my favorite subject," he answered, not looking at the woman, too absorbed by the model.

"Well, it's good to know that there are still young adults who are interested in science and it's wonders. What's your name, boy?" she asked.

He turned to look at her when he realized she was pregnant. The woman had to be five or six months at the most. He tilted his head to look up at her face and instantly felt dizzy. An image of a young girl about fifteen with short red hair, nearly black eyes and a bright smile flashed across his mind.

"_Jazz! Come on, let's go! Dustin and Draco are waiting for us!"_

The image faded away as soon as it had come and it left him feeling lightheaded. He looked up to see the woman looking down at him as if she was shocked. Instantly, she shook away the expression and smiled down at him.  
"I asked you for your name. Or did you want me to introduce myself first? My name is Katerina Volta," she said.

Jasper still looked fazed.

"Uh...Jasper De Luna," he replied.

"Jasper!"

The red-haired boy turned around to see Annie running towards him.

"Annie? What's wrong?" he asked.

The pinkette pulled him away from the woman, who was looking at them strangely, and leaned towards him.

"XANA's activated a tower. Caleb and the rest of them are headed towards to Lyoko," she said.

"Well, do they know what the attack is?" he asked.

She looked like she was about to reply when a loud booming sound came from down the museum. Heavy footsteps resounded off the hallways and everyone's heads turned towards the back of the museum. A chorus of screams came from the back followed by people running towards the exits. Jasper and Annie's eyes widened as they saw a giant mammoth replica walking towards them. It was over thirty feet tall and fifty feet wide.

Jasper's eyes widened in fear.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that: No. It's not supposed to do that," he said.

Annie shook her head. The saw Emma come running towards them.

"XANA's possessed one of the mammoth model's in the museum," she told them.

They all stared up at the humongous beast. Sure enough, XANA's symbol burned brightly from it's eyes.

…

A/N: Cliffie! Sorry, this is all I can manage right now. Hope you guys enjoyed it!

REVIEW! MAKE A SICK PERSON HAPPY! ^_^


	49. A Mammoth Situation

A/N: Been listening to 'Fuckin Perfect' by P!NK and it's Fuckin AWESOME!

...

Chapter 48

The elevator opened with a loud _hiss_ and Caleb exited. Kevin pressed the big red button that would bring them to the scanner room.

"Hurry," said Caleb, just as the doors closed.

The elevator lowered to the scanner room and Mina, Aaren and Kevin stepped out. They ran to the scanners and stepped inside.

Caleb instantly started the virtualization process.

"Transfer Kevin. Transfer Mina. Transfer Aaren."

The three teens felt a puff of air flow up from the bottom of the scanners.

"Scanner Kevin. Scanner Mina. Scanner Aaren."

The metal ring within the scanner scanned the Lyoko Warriors. Caleb pressed a few more keys.

"Virtualization."

Mina, Kevin and Aaren felt themselves being de-virtualized and were instantly materialized onto Lyoko. They each fell to the ground with a fain _thud_, landing smoothly on their feet. Well, Aaren landed on his _paws_. They all stood up straight. Caleb moved the mic closer to his mouth.

"The activated tower is in the Mountain Sector. There's a Way Ward Tower just half a mile north of your position. Get there and you'll be transported to another tower not far from it," he informed them.

"Well, just one problem. How are we going to de-activate the tower without Jasper?" asked Aaren.

Mina and Kevin waited with Aaren for an answer. They were met with silence.

"Caleb?" asked Mina.

A sigh was heard.

"I don't know."

...

Jasper watched as the police came and tried to evacuate the building. He was about to head out the exit when a shrill cry turned his head. A XANA-fied Raptor the size of a coke-machine was cornering Annie. It looked ready to take a snap out of her. He looked around, searching for a weapon. Finally, he saw one of the disks that usually held the giant light bulbs that lit the place one the floor. It was about three feet wide and long. He ran towards it and grabbed the edge of one side with both hands. He mimicked the way Emma usually threw her fan in Lyoko and spun around in a circle. Aiming carefully, he threw the disk hard and it landed sharply on the Raptor's head, knocking it to the ground.

The pinkette ran frantically to Jasper's side and he held her under one arm.

"Where's Emma?" he asked.

A scream from down the hallway caught their attention.

"Come on," said Jasper, taking Annie by the hand and running towards the source of the screams.

When they got there, they saw Emma and Katerina running away from the giant mammoth. With it's gargantuan mass, it left a huge array of debris and destruction behind it. Jasper and Annie looked to see that Emma was trying to guide the pregnant woman away from the mammoth's gigantic feet. She shuffled her into a corner and both Jasper and Annie ran towards them, dodging the mammoth's deadly limbs.

"What are you still doing here?" he demanded.

"She's _pregnant_, Jazz! What? Did you expect me to leave her all by herself?" she asked.

He shook his head but still looked pissed.

"Well, call Caleb and check up on the situation," she told him.

He frowned at her but pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Caleb's number. It ran twice before someone picked up.

"_Jasper! Dude, we need you here right now!"_ said Caleb.

"We're a little preoccupied. XANA's possessed the dinosaur models in the museum. He even managed to possess a mammoth. Emma, Annie and I are safe but we might not be for long," he told him.

"_Well, then what the hell am I supposed to do to de-activate the tower?"_ he asked.

"Figure something out!" he answered, hanging up the phone.

He looked at the females staring at him.

"How are we going to get out of this one?"

…

Caleb slammed his hand down in frustration.

"Damnit! XANA sure planned this one out," he muttered.

"Caleb! We're at the tower," said Kevin.

He sighed.

"Good. Now just go in and jump off the edge," he ordered.

"Jump? Are you serious?" asked Aaren.

"Yes. It should transport the three of you to the another tower in the Mountain Region," he said.

The three nodded and ran into the tower. Aaren slipped off the edge and fell off the platform. Kevin and Mina shook their heads as they leaped off of the edge. They fell downwards then found themselves floating upwards to another platform. Aaren was already there, looking winded.

"Well, _that_ scared the crap out of me," he told them.

They rolled their eyes.

"Caleb. Where's the tower?" asked Kevin.

"Two kilometers west. There are monsters there. You might want to hurry," he told them.

"Don't we always?" Mina asked smugly.

They exited the tower and started running in the direction Caleb had told them. They stopped when they were close to the tower and were met with a sight. Three Hornets covering the air, two Tarantulas covering the ground and Jace in the middle. Mina and Aaren turned to look at Kevin and his eyes were widened and his jaw was open.

"Jace?" he asked.

"Yeah, we forgot to tell you about seeing her in Lyoko," muttered Aaren.

Kevin shot him a death glare. Aaren looked like he was about to say some stupid retort when he saw a laser being shot at him and teleported out of the way. He reappeared ten feet away. Kevin ran towards the first Tarantula. His eyes narrowed.

"Duplication!" he shouted, making a clone of himself.

He used the clone to distract the monster. It charged for the clone and Kevin got close enough to dig his spikes into it's Eye. He jumped backwards and was instantly bombarded with lasers from the Hornets. He did a series of back hand springs to avoid getting hit by the lasers. Aaren instantly teleported himself in mid-air and unsheathed his claws. They were a good two inches long and he dug them into the first Hornet's Eye, destroying it. He teleported himself back to the ground, beside Mina.

"Ready?" he asked.

She nodded and they charged forward. Aaren teleported straight to the Tarantula. It stopped and tried to attack him. A laser hit him once, causing him to fly back just as Mina jumped forward, digging both swords into it's Eye. She pulled out before it exploded and landed by Aaren.

"Aaren. Sixty life points left," said Caleb.

"I can do the math!" Aaren answered, irritated.

"Little help here, guys!" shouted Kevin just as he dodged another bombardment of lasers.

Mina threw her swords straight at the Hornets and managed to hit one of them. The last one turned on her and shot a laser at her. It hit her on the shoulder. She winced.

"Eighty life points, Mina," Caleb told her.

"I know."

"Hm. This last one should be a piece of cake," said Aaren, smirking.

He felt a presence to his left and turned his head, coming face to face with his sister.

"You forgot about me."

Quick as a cobra, she grabbed a sai from within her boot and stuck it in his chest. His eyes went wide and he was instantly de-virtualized.

"Aaren!" Mina shouted.

Jace turned to the navy-haired girl and tucked her wings in. They faded away. Her crossbow hung loosely from her holster and in her hands were a pair of sais. She took up a fighting position. Kevin quickly took care of the last Hornet and walked to Mina's side.

"Jace," he acknowledged quietly.

Said girl smirked.

"Kevin."

…

"ROAR!"

"Holy shit! Get us the fuck out of here!" shouted Emma.

They were being cornered by XANA-fied Saber Tooth tiger and Jasper was fending it off with a metal pipe he had found on the floor. The redhead grunted as the ferocious feline lunged forward and bit onto the pipe. He pulled on it but the prehistoric cat was too strong and grabbed it away from him, throwing it to the side, carelessly. Jasper backed away and stared at the Saber Tooth. It inched closer and jumped at him. Jasper dodged to the left, so did Emma and Annie. It approached Katerina and stared at her for half a second before turning back to Jasper, growling.

The red-headed woman whipped out her own cellphone and pressed a few numbers very quickly. She placed the phone to her ear.

"Jasmine, disattivare della torre. Adesso," she ordered in Italian.

Strangely, Jasper knew exactly what she was saying.

…

Jace backed away from Kevin. She had managed to de-virtualize Mina and had reduced his life points to sixty. Right now, Jace was pretty sure that her life points were around forty. Kevin had managed to scratch her with his spikes, twice and she had lost thirty life points for each hit.

"_Jasmine, disattivare della torre. Adesso_."

Jace wondered what was going on but didn't question Katerina. After all, she would not compromise the mission unless someone or herself was in great danger. In the blink of an eye, Jace had her wings out, unfolded and was flying towards the tower.

"You're not getting away that easily," he muttered.

Using his Super Strength, Kevin kicked off from the ground – creating a crater in the process – and launched himself at the girl. He grabbed her around the waist and they both crashed into the tower and went through it, landing on the second platform of the activated tower. Kevin tried his best to hit Jace while Jace tried her best to both dodge and hit Kevin. After a while, she looked more focused on getting him off of her than actually defeating him.

"Kevin! Kevin! Stop! Stop it!" she shouted at him.

"Why should I listen to you?" he asked, outraged.

Seeing her clad in XANA's colors and fighting against her own friends, against _him_, had sent him into a frenzy and he didn't care whether or not the tower got de-activated or not. He just wanted to de-virtualize her with his own hands. With a sudden surge of strength, Jace flipped them over and pinned him down. His head hung off the edge and he had to keep his head up in order to look at her. She looked frustrated.

"Just stop it, Kevin! I'm trying to help you!" she told him.

He raised an eyebrow.

"How do I know you're not going to type CODE: XANA into this tower?" he asked.

Instead of answering, Jace got to her feet. He was standing in an instant, ready to drive his spikes into her body. She stared at him and he looked at her strangely.

"What?" he asked.

She reached out to him and he grabbed her hand. She looked annoyed and swatted his hand away. For some reason, he let her go. He let her grab his hand and let her place it on the screen right next to them. A hand print showed up and the word "KEVIN" typed itself up.

CODE, it asked.

He looked at her and watched as she typed in...L-Y-O-K-O.

She looked back at him.

"Tower de-activated," she said.

Caleb stared at the screen dumbly. Kevin had de-activated the tower? Aaren snapped his fingers in front of Caleb's face and he looked up at him.

"Dude. Don't you have a Return to the Past to do or something?" he asked.

Caleb nodded and started clicking. He pressed ENTER.

Jace watched as the white light rose up the tower and prepared to engulf them. Kevin looked back at her and for once, she smiled. She leaned up and kissed him lightly on the list.

"Bye," she said quietly as the white life engulfed them and sent them into the past.

…

A/N: I really need to schedule my time more properly so I can spend _at least_ one hour per day on this story. Hope you liked it!

Translation: Jasmine, deactivate the tower. Now.

REVIEW!


	50. Jasper's Past

A/N: F8CK! STEELERS LOST! F8CK YOU PACKERS YOU STILL SUCK! F8CK! %#*#%()#*%&&!$!$$#$%#$$)(*()&)&%#)&#%)(*#)(*$#$)(*)(*$)(*$#*()#%*()%)*(%#()*#$)(*#()$*%##%!%#%#&&%&!$$$*$*$*$!*$$*!($)*()%)(*

...

Chapter 49

"I think I've figured why Kevin can access the super computer," said Caleb.

"Do tell," muttered the dark-haired boy.

"It seems that – like Jasper – since you are directly linked to both XANA and Lyoko, you now have the power to de-activate the tower," he answered.

"Cool," said Aaren.

"But doesn't that mean that Jace can also de-activate the tower or even enter CODE: XANA into the tower?" asked Annie.

"Yes. That's why we'd better be a lot more careful about the towers and get to them a lot quicker. She could enter CODE: XANA at any time but I don't think she'll do it," he said.

"Why not?" asked Jasper.

"Well, I delved deeper into XANA's plan and it seems that he needs to activate all the towers in order to unleash his apocalypse. He doesn't just plan on destroying the world with nuclear bombs. He plans on taking over all aircrafts and war machines to make sure that he gets the job done," he said.

"Well, that sucks. This means that we've got to go into overtime with the whole anti-virus thing," said Annie.

"Yeah. But our intelligence is limited. That thing won't be done in time. Even with all our minds combined. Then there's the matter of Jace getting her virus removed. She won't come willingly," said Caleb.

"Let's just focus on getting the anti-virus program done. If we work really hard, we may be able to get it done," said Jasper.

"I still don't think it's possible. We need someone who's very good with computers. Someone better than any of us," he told them.

"We can help you out with that."

The whole group turned their heads to who had just spoken and saw four people standing there. Kyo Kobayashi and Aidan, Shawn and Draco Trevelyan. Caleb opened his mouth to speak but Draco raised his hand.

"We know what's going on. Did you think that I never bothered to look in the binder? I've figured out that Kevin pretty much has this virus that keeps him bound to XANA and that's keeping you from shutting down the supercomputer. We've come to help you with the anti-virus program. My sons are incredibly brilliant when it comes to computers and could help you fix it up by June. Kyo is also incredibly smart with technology. He could be of some assistance," he told them.

"You're not dead?" Kevin asked his brother, ignoring Draco.

"Why? Was I supposed too die any time soon?" he retorted.

"You have no idea..." Kevin mumbled to himself.

Kyo smirked and Kevin instantly looked away. Caleb raised an eyebrow and turned to Draco.

"Usually, I'd say 'yes' in this kind of situation but we don't know very much about you. For instance, your involvement with Lyoko and how Jasper relates to your past. You haven't even told us why you fainted," he said.

"And do you know anything about a woman named 'Katerina'?" asked Jasper.

"Jasper had a short vision about a young girl that looks like a younger version of her," explained Annie.

Draco sighed and placed his hands in his pocket.

"You want to know about my past? Or Jasper's?"

…

"YOU INTERFERED WITH MY ATTACK!" shouted XANA.

Katerina stared at the man with a straight face.

"People were in danger of dying. I did what I had to do," she told him.

The man looked like he wanted to hit her but kept his cool composure. Jace was watching the scene unfold. He turned on her.

"You! You de-activated the tower! You _showed_ that Stern boy that he could de-activate the tower!" he shouted, approaching her.

Katerina held a hand in front of him.

"Don't bring her into this, XANA. She was merely following my orders as you told her that she should. Next time you plan an attack. Notify me beforehand otherwise I might get involved and you will have to call off the attack, otherwise, you'd lose everything we've been working so hard to attain," she told him.

He glared down at her before turning and walking towards the door.

"It better not happen again," he warned her as he slammed the door shut.

Jace turned to Katerina and she breathed out a heavy sigh. The young teen girl raised an eyebrow.

"Why did you call off the attack when it wasn't even your life that was in danger. It was Jasper's. He was most likely XANA's target, either way," said Jace.

"I know but...I couldn't let him die," said the red-haired woman.

"I understand that you hate seeing people die and I wouldn't want Jasper dead, either, but...why?" she asked.

Katerina smiled at her.

"Because, Jasmine, he's my brother."

_(Flashback)_

"_Jazz! Come on, let's go! Dustin and Draco are waiting for us!" shouted the cute little redhead._

_Jasper sighed at his twin sister and ran after her. Ever since Dustin had told her about the supercomputer, she had stuck to them like glue. Granted, Dustin _did_ just tell her because she was his girlfriend but Jasper was still a little ticked off that his best friend had brought his sister into this. She was more annoying now._

"_I'm coming, Kat! Jeez, no need to shout!" he told her._

_She smirked at him._

"_Come on, slowpoke!" she teased._

_He rolled his eyes as they approached the factory. There, he saw two boys. One was fifteen with long, actual silver hair and another that was fourteen with short, platinum blonde hair holding a baseball bat. _(A/N: I don't think there's a difference but I'm just putting this crap down.)_ Katerina ran up to the short-haired boy and hugged him. Jasper bumped fists with the longer-haired one._

"_What's the situation?" he asked Draco._

"_Someone found out about the supercomputer. He brought a couple of friends with him. They're in the factory right now," he told him._

_Jasper frowned._

"_Are they armed?" he asked Dustin._

_The boy shrugged._

"_Possibly. Why do you think I brought this bat?" he asked._

"_Baseball practice?" he guessed._

_Dustin smirked._

"_Let's go," said Draco._

_They entered the factory and went down the elevator. When they got there, there were three men in black suits. They turned to look at them._

"_Hey, guys. What's your business here?" asked Dustin._

_Instead of replying, the first man took out a gun and shot him. Dustin instantly fell to the ground._

"_Dustin!" shouted Katerina._

"_Kat! Get out of the way!" Jasper shouted, pulling his sister back into the elevator._

_Shots ricocheted off of metal as the elevator door closed. Jasper turned to Draco with a shaking Katerina in his arms._

"_What the hell was that?" he shouted._

"_Yeah, like I would know that they would have guns!" he retorted._

"_They killed him!" shouted Jasper._

"_He's my brother! How do you think _I_ feel?" Draco screeched, his voice rising up an octave._

_The elevator door opened and they entered the scanner room. Jasper led Katerina to the first scanner._

"_Get in. Just hide," he told her._

_She nodded vaguely and he stepped back as the scanner door closed. He got into the other one._

"_Draco? You coming?" he asked._

_The silver-haired boy shook his head._

"_Give me a minute," he said._

_The scanner door closed and Jasper shook from the adrenaline, before blacking out from the fear. Katerina waited for a few seconds before exiting the scanner. She saw Draco going up the ladder._

"_What are you doing?" she asked._

"_I'm gonna give those guys a piece of my mind," he told her._

"_They'll kill you!" she whispered harshly._

"_Who cares?" he asked._

_Katerina watched as he went up the ladder. She sank to her knees and placed her hands together just as she heard a gunshot._

"_Please someone! Help...XANA please!" she shouted to the ceiling. "I'll do anything for you! No matter what! I'll give you anything! Please! Just save my brother and my friend!"_

_She cried quietly before hearing the buzz of the scanner. She looked at the scanner holding Jasper. It was beginning the virtualization process._

"_How did-"_

_All of a sudden, a specter of a man appeared in front of her._

"_XANA has heard your request. You'd better keep your promise," he said._

_Katerina heard shouting and climbed up the ladder to see electricity shooting out from many of the electrical chords. Draco was pressed up against the wall, watching the scene unfold. His arm was bleeding. She ran to him as the men in the black suits were thrown across the room. She was pretty sure that, at least, two of them were dead. She saw Dustin's dead body, faced-down on the floor. Her heart shattered as she checked Draco's wound._

"_What's going on?" he asked._

"_XANA's helping us," she said._

"_Why?"_

"_I asked him to. Hurry, we need to get out of here," she said._

"_Wait," he said, going down the ladder to the room containing the generator of the super computer. _

"_What are you doing?" she asked._

"_Stopping all of this. Permanently," he said, placing his hand on the giant switch._

"_Jasper's still in Lyoko!" she shouted._

"_Then he'll be safer. We've already paid the ultimate price for our meddling. Jasper will be better off in Lyoko than having to deal with all this drama. He was never good at dealing with this kind of thing," he said, pulling down the switch._

_She gasped and he turned to her._

"_Let's go," he said, reaching out to her._

_She pulled away from him, tears running down her cheeks._

"_Get away from me," she warned him._

_He frowned._

"_Fine. But this thing stays dormant. I'm not losing anyone else because of some stupid game," he growled._

_She stared at him, knowing that he was serious. He looked up the hole holding the ladder. He turned to her._

"_Stay away from here, Katerina. Just leave. I'll take care of everything. Just...stay away," he said._

_(End Flashback)_

"So you stayed away?" asked Jace.

"I had no other choice. I never could explain Jasper's disappearance and after a while, the police just let it go," said Katerina, sighing.

Jace fell silent.

"That's why you're here," she guessed.

"I made a promise, Jasmine. I aim to keep it to the best of my ability. Even if it _is_ XANA," Katerina answered.

"So...what happened to Draco and all the dead bodies?"

…

"I covered all of that up. I'm not proud of it but it was necessary. If they destroyed the super computer, Jasper would've just died. At the time, I just wanted to erase my past but not kill it. That's why I moved. I'm sorry, Jasper. I didn't know what else to do," he apologized.

The redhead just stared at him before walking away. Annie stared after him then ran after him. Emma and Caleb followed. Kevin turned to Draco and the rest of them.

"He just needs some time," he told them.

Draco nodded in understanding.

…

Annie approached Jasper. He was sitting on a bench somewhere away from Kadic. He was crying into his hands. She sat down next to him. Caleb and Emma stood off to the side.

"Jasper," she said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He pulled her close and hugged her tightly. He shuddered as he took in a deep breath.

"I remember everything," he sobbed into her shoulder.

She stroked his hair and just let him cry onto her shoulder. She shushed him.

"It's okay, Jazz. It's okay," she said.

Emma and Caleb sat on the same bench. Jasper turned to look at them.

"I feel stupid," he told them, giving off a weak laugh.

Caleb smiled.

"It's okay to cry, Jazz. Even the strongest of men cry," he told his friend.

He sighed and nodded.

…

A/N: **REVIEW!**

F8CK YOU PACKERS!

SORRY TO ALL THE PACKER FANS OUT THERE BUT F8CK! F8CK! F8CK! F8CK!

PACKERS! YOUR WIN GAVE ME F8CKING PNEUMONIA!

**REVIEW** OR I'M GOING TO SNIPER ALL THE PLAYERS IN PACKERS!

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Announcement: effin emo has officially lost her mind.

**REVIEW!**


	51. Knowledge and Deceit

A/N: Um, okay. So this one just came off of the top of my head. I hope you all enjoy!

To Tsunamix: This chapter was _in no way_ influenced by CD: PS. I just thought of it, like, now. Sort of influenced by Pretty Little Liars, though. Just the whole relationship - you know what? Read and you'll understand!

…

Chapter 50

"So how far are we with the anti-virus program?" Draco asked Annie.

They in one of the spare classrooms in the school. The pinkette looked over at Jasper then back to the teacher.

"Only a third of the way there. We still need to give it a few tweaks. If we do it wrong there's the possibility that we could hurt Kevin," she told him.

Aidan and Shawn took a look at the programs outline.

"Looks complicated," said Aidan.

"But we can fix it up," continued Shawn.

The bell rang and they pulled away from the program outline, turning and gathering their things.

"Well, unfortunately, we all need to get to our respective class. We can continue this after school," said Draco, getting to his feet.

Annie laughed.

"Yeah. Pete will chew my head off if I'm late one more time," she said.

They all grabbed their bags and left. Jasper walked out the door, followed by Draco.

"Hey, look...about the whole Lyoko thing-" the older man started.

"Don't worry about it," Jasper told him, walking into class.

Draco nodded and turned to the entire class. They were all sitting down, waiting for class to begin.

"Okay, everyone! Please turn to page 153 in your textbooks."

...

Lizzy Della Robbia sighed as she sat down on the bench during P.E. She had feigned a sprained ankle and was actually really bored. She crossed her legs and placed her elbow on one, holding her chin with her hand. She thought to herself.

It had been a while since she had actually done something truly devious.

She saw Emma and Annie passing by and smirked. You could almost see the wheels turning in her head. She pulled out her cellphone and looked through her pictures. Lizzy silently thanked whoever had invented Photoshop.

…

After school, Annie and Jasper walked into Draco's class. They had brought the binder with them. Jasper brought two chairs to the front of Draco's desk and placed them there silently; one for him, one for Annie. The pinkette smiled at him appreciatively and he returned the gesture. Draco cleared his throat and they turned to face him.

"So? How far are we?" asked Draco.

Annie showed him a list of codes and encryptions. He took it and stared at it.

"So you're just a little over third...this seems like we can finish the hardest part later on. We just need to get a couple of the basic functions down," he said.

Jasper nodded then looked around.

"Oh, um. Where are Aidan and Shawn...and Kyo?" he asked.

Draco shrugged at him.

"Aidan and Shawn are probably finishing up some project they've been assigned," he said, leaning back in his chair.

Sunddenly, his phone rang and he pulled it out.

"Oh...Kyo's here. It seems that he's waiting out in front. He has some stuff that he needs to bring to the classroom. Maybe he needs help or something," Draco muttered.

Jasper sat up.

"I can go and help him," he suggested.

Draco nodded.

"Yeah, I'll tell him that. He'll get here faster if you do, anyway. Do you want me to go and help?" asked Draco, feeling weird that he was asking a teenager for permission.

Jasper put on a weird expression before shaking his head.

"No. I got it," he said, walking out the door.

Draco sighed and looked at Annie.

"He's upset with me, isn't he?" he asked.

"I'd imagine that he is, considering all that's happened," she said.

The teacher nodded and scratched the back of his neck while staring down at the anti-virus program outline.

"This is going to a difficult four months."

…

Jasper tried to control himself. He knew that he was still angry at Draco but he was trying to banish the feeling. He had been young and he had just seen his brother die before his eyes. He had been distraught. Jasper really couldn't blame him but he still felt resentment to the older man.

"Damn, I hate this whole thing!" he complained.

He felt a harsh bump on his shoulder and looked down to see that he had accidentally walked into someone else.

"Ow," mumbled the girl he had bumped into.

"Sorry," he told the girl, not bothering to look at her.

He walked away, still muttering to himself. Lizzy frowned. Where was he going? She tried to keep her curiosity under control. After all, she thought with renewed determination, she had a life to ruin. Or rather, two lives.

…

Annie was sitting on Draco's desk, staring down at the binder while the older man was walking around the classroom, waiting for Jasper and Kyo to come into the classroom. They didn't see the girl outside the door window, taking pictures. Annie jumped off of the desk and Draco took a seat, leaning on his hands.

He pulled a pen out of his drawer along with some papers.

"What's that?" she asked, leaning forward.

Draco smirked.

"Well, don't forget that I _am_ a teacher and I _do_ have some papers to grade," he told her.

Annie smiled and sat back on the desk, facing away from him. He ignored her and started grading various essays. They heard foot steps going away from the door and looked up. There was no one there. Draco shrugged it off and went back to grading papers. There was a knock on the door, followed by it being swung open and Kyo and Jasper walking in with various boxes.

"What's that for?" Draco asked, taking the first box from Kyo and placing it on his desk.

Kyo shrugged.

"Some blue prints of other anti-virus programs. They have similar functions and maybe we can find a way to incorporate all their various characteristics to help create out program. They're all pretty much the thing that we're trying to make...except that they weren't meant to be dealing with a human body, of course," he added.

Annie rolled her eyes and scanned through all the different blueprints. She pulled one out.

"I like this one. It looks very similar to what we want," she told Draco.

He took it from her and studied it. Jasper came up to her side and she smiled at him. Draco nodded.

"This is very good. What else do you have?" he asked.

Kyo smirked and pulled out a giant binder.

"Scan through _that_."

…

Lizzy walked up to her grandfather and gave him the picture she had made. He took a look at it and his eyes widened.

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

Lizzy feigned being clueless and shrugged.

"Someone put it in my locker. When I saw it I knew that I had to report this immediately," she told him.

"Well, this man needs to be locked up! Only the good Lord knows how traumatized this student must be," he said, putting the picture down.

He picked up the phone and dialed the police.

"Hello? Please state your emergency," the operator told him.

Mr. Delmas frowned.

"Yes. I'd like to report a sexual harassment case."

…

Draco Trevelyan wondered what was going on. Mr. Delmas had called him to the office and he had walked in to see a policeman on one side of the principle while a confused-looking Annie and an outraged Jasper were standing on his other side.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Mr. Delmas handed him a photo.

"Would you like to explain exactly what you were doing in this photo?" the principle demanded.

Draco looked down and his eyes widened. In the picture, Draco was standing with a perplexed expression in front of a girl sitting on his desk. The girl was Annie and it looked like he was trying to kiss her. He looked up at the principle and the police officer.

"I'm sorry but I have no idea how this photo could've been taken. I've never even touched Ms. Belpois in any way that would be ruled as inappropriate," he said.

Mr. Delmas frowned.

"Well, the photo says otherwise. Officer," he said, motioning towards the teacher.

The man stepped forward and grabbed Draco, cuffing him.

"He didn't do anything!" Annie shouted.

Mr. Delmas turned to him.

"Ms. Belpois! I know that your feelings for Mr. Trevelyan may cloud your judgment but things like this are _not_ tolerated in both school and society!" he told her.

"But he never touched me!" she argued.

The police officer stood Draco up. Jasper stared at him angrily. Finally, he snapped.

"How could you?" he shouted, lunging forward.

Annie grabbed him, trying to keep him back.

"Stop it! Jasper!" she shouted.

Mr. Delmas held a hand out in front of him.

"I know that you're angry Mr. De Luna but this will be judged the right way. In court," he said.

"Jasper! He didn't do anything!" she told him.

Jasper pulled away from her.

"Let go of me! I can't believe you!" he shouted, running out the door.

Annie sat down and sobbed into her hands. Mr. Delmas placed a hand on her shoulder. She couldn't do anything as the police officer dragged Draco out the door. She let the tears fall.

"But he didn't do anything!" she sobbed.

…

A/N: Cliffie? XD More like I got lazy and decided to end it here...

Review and I'll update!


	52. Unorthodox

A/N: I don't really know how cases are tried in France so I'm just gonna wing it. Enjoy!

...

Chapter 51

Draco and his lawyer were meeting with the judge before he was actually tried for the case. Her name was Rina Dior. She was tall, wearing a black robe with brown hair and brown eyes. She looked over the papers in her hand and glanced up at him with a disgusted look on her face.

"Well, Mr. Trevelyan. It seems like you're being charged by the people of France for a sexual harassment charge. Do you have anything to say about that?" she asked.

"I have never touched Ms. Belpois, your Honor. I would never do anything so inappropriate and repulsive," he told her.

She raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going to have Ms. Belpois come into this office and I'll hear her side of the story," she said.

Draco nodded solemnly. He knew that Annie would tell the truth. He and his lawyer stood up and walked out the door to the waiting room. He saw Annie with her parents on either side of her. He noted that they had a young man with black hair as their lawyer. No doubt, Annie hadn't asked for the lawyer. Jeremie Belpois glared up at her while Aelita had her arm around her daughter. Annie looked uncomfortable and frustrated. Judge Dior's secretary walked up to them.

"The judge would like to see the three of you right now," she said.

They all nodded and followed the woman. They walked through the door and looked over at the judge. Annie and Aelita took up the two seats in front of Judge Dior while Jeremie and their lawyer remained standing. Judge Dior looked at the papers in front of her.

"Ms. Belpois. It seems that you have become the victim of a sexual harassment case," she said.

Annie sighed.

"With all due respect, your Honor, this whole thing is idiotic. Mr. Trevelyan has never done anything to physically, verbally or mentally abuse me; sexual or otherwise. He should not have been brought up on charges for something he did not do," she told the judge in a voice so calm, it was frightening.

The judge picked up the picture Mr. Delmas had given her.

"This picture speaks differently," she said.

"I think you should have someone look into that picture. It's fake," she said.

Judge Dior stared at the picture.

"Looks real to me. However, since you are so positive that Mr. Trevelyan never touched you, I will have our forensic scientists look into it. There is, though, the real question. Has Mr. Trevelyan ever done anything that could be considered as a sexual offense? Many girls, in your situation, fear that more harm will come to them if they tell on their abusers but you _will_ be kept safe, Ms. Belpois," she said.

Aelita placed a hand on Annie's shoulder.

"Tell the truth, honey," she said.

Annie shrugged off her mother's hand.

"I am!" she said loudly, losing her cool composure. "Why won't you people believe me? I would never lie about something like this and Mr. Trevelyan would never do anything to harm me. He's a _teacher_ for crying out loud and I've rarely talked to him! He's a good person and someone's trying to set the two of us up for this torture! I'm done with this!"

With that, Annie got to her feet and stormed out the door.

…

Annie sat alone in her bedroom. It was night time – 8:32 pm – and she couldn't sleep. Mr. Trevelyan had been placed on temporary suspension while the police worked out whether or not the photo was real or not. Jasper had refused to talk to her. She was sure that he felt betrayed, thinking that she had chosen someone else. They had never had a serious relationship but the attraction was there. Now, Annie felt like they had lost that forever.

"Not exactly the easiest feeling to live with, is it?" came a strangely familiar voice from the doorway.

The pinkette's widened as she realized who was speaking and turned her head slowly. Jasmine Raine Delmas Della Robbia was sitting on the edge of her window.

"Jace?" she breathed out.

Said girl jumped in fully and closed the door so that no one could see that she was in Kadic. Annie got to her feet, unable to tell whether or not she should be happy or afraid. Jace could beat in martial arts and could easily disable her in this situation. The black-haired girl with purple highlights smirked.

"Calm down, Annie. I'm not here to hurt you or anything. I heard about what was going on with you and Mr. Trevelyan. Kind of shady, don't you think?" she asked her.

Annie huffed in exasperation.

"Draco and I have _never_ had a relationship even remotely close to what they're charging him on! Why won't anyone believe that?" she asked.

"Do you have the picture?" questioned Jace.

Annie sighed and walked over to the drawer with a copy of the picture someone had stuck under her door. She handed it to her. Jace's expression turned thoughtful and she tapped her index finger on her chin. Her lips puckered slightly and her eyebrows furrowed. That's when Annie took in her appearance fully. Jace looked disheveled and tired. She was still beautiful but she looked more or less worse for wear. The pinkette noticed that there were bruises on her elbow like someone had gripped them tightly. The dark-haired girl saw where she was looking and handed the picture back to Annie.

"I'll look into it. Those idiots at the police station will take forever to figure out that this photo is fake. Whoever did it really took their time. The backgrounds match and the dimensions look pretty good," she muttered.

Jace's eyes suddenly widened in realization and her head snapped up.

"I think I know who made that photo," she said, heading towards the window.

"Where are you going?"

Jace smirked.

"I'm saving your teacher's ass and busting my sister's," she answered, jumping.

Annie rushed to the window. Her room was on the second floor, it was dangerous for her to jump but when she looked down, she saw Jace already running across the courtyard and out of school grounds.

…

The next day, the police 'mysteriously' got two photos from an anonymous donor. One was of Annie sitting on Draco's desk, studying a binder while Draco was fixing something on the wall. The other was of Draco standing in front of his desk, looking at a box someone had sat on top of it. The case was dismissed and Draco received a proper pardon. Kadic took him back when they saw that the photo was a fake and everyone let it go after hearing that the picture hadn't been legit. Annie, however, was still traumatized over the whole ordeal. Jasper – feeling foolish for actually believing the whole thing – had begun to ignore her, locking himself inside his room instead.

"I don't think he forgives himself for losing it like that and not believing you," said Emma.

Mina nodded and Annie sighed. The three of them were sitting together on one of the benches in Kadic, talking about Jasper's weird behavior.

"I feel like I let it happen. I don't blame him for going off like that but it's hurting me that he's shutting himself off like this," she said.

"I know. That's why I asked the boys to go talk to Jasper," said Mina.

"Really?" Annie asked.

The blue-haired girl nodded.

"Let's hope it works."

…

Jasper heard loud rapping sounds on his door.

"Go away!" he shouted.

"JASPER! LET US IN!" shouted Aaren.

Kevin winced at the volume of his friend's voice.

"I want to be alone! Leave me a-"

"LET US IN! LET US IN! LET US IN! LET US IN! LET US IN! LET US IN! LET US IN! LET U-"

The door swung open and an outraged-looking Jasper was standing there.

"Alright! Jeez! Just stop shouting!" he yelled at him.

"Fine," Aaren said, crossing his arms across his chest.

They walked in and Kevin rolled at his friend's antics. Aaren may be crazy but, at least, his plans were effective.

"What do you guys want?" Jasper asked.

"We're here to talk about my sister," said Caleb.

The redhead turned away.

"I have nothing to say," he replied.

"If that's true then Kevin doesn't love Linkin Park...even thought they're practically dead," said Aaren.

Kevin whacked the side of his head.

"They're classic," he answered (A/N: Future, remember?)

"Do you guys ever stop fighting?" asked Caleb.

"Do you really want an answer to that?" asked Aaren, trying to slap the back of Kevin's head.

The black-haired responded by kicking Aaren's leg, causing him to fall onto Jasper's bed. The redhead frowned.

"Dude, get off of my bed."

"Can't. I'm too comfortable," he said, switching to lay on his stomach.

Caleb laughed and grabbed a seat. Kevin remained standing. Aaren played with the sleeve of his shirt, pulling out pieces of lint.

"So...what's the deal between you and Annie?" he asked.

Jasper looked away.

"Nothing."

"_Bull crap_," he said in a sing-song voice.

"You've been avoiding her," said Caleb.

"Was it because of that deal with Draco? Dude, you _know_ that wasn't true. He'd never do anything like that," said Aaren.

"Yeah, I know," Jasper muttered.

Kevin stared at his friend's anguish.

"You were jealous, weren't you?" he asked.

Jasper looked up and blushed lightly.

"No!" he defended himself.

Aaren laughed.

"Haha! Y-you actually thought that- that- Draco would-" he chortled.

"Dude, that's sick," said Caleb.

Jasper just grumbled and grabbed his pillow, wrapping his arms around it and burying his face in it like a child would do when sad. Aaren sat up.

"It's okay to get jealous, Jazz. We all get jealous from time to time," he said, patting Jasper's shoulder.

"Pfft! Whatever," he said, sulking.

"My advice would be to go talk to her," said Kevin.

"Yeah, I know," said Jasper.

"Then go talk to her!" shouted Aaren, throwing his arms up in the air.

They all winced at the volume of his voice. The loud blonde grabbed the collar of Jasper's shirt.

"And off we go!"

"Ow, Aaren! You're choking me!"

…

Annie walked up to the black-haired girl with _blonde_ highlights. Lizzy looked up at her.

"What do you want?" she asked the pinkette.

"I know that it was you who Photoshopped the picture, Lizzy," she said.

Lizzy smirked.

"What proof do you have?" she asked.

"None. I just wanted to let you know that I know it was you," she said, walking by her.

Lizzy's eyebrow twitched. She had expected Annie to be angrier. It would have made the victory all that sweeter, now all she had was a bitter taste in her mouth. She turned around.

"Look here, Anita!"

A pale white hand came flying towards her and Lizzy felt something hit her on the cheek. She stumbled backwards, holding her face.

"OW! Bitch! I'm telling my grandfather!" she shouted.

"Telling him what? That you faked the picture?" Annie retorted.

Lizzy looked like she was about to lunge for the pinkette but Mina and Emma came up behind her. Lizzy backed away. Three to one wasn't a very good option. Annie glared at her.

"Do something reckless and stupid like that again and I won't be so nice," she warned her, turning and leaving.

Lizzy frowned and sniffed. Mina walked up to her and Lizzy turned away, embarrassed.

"You know, you don't have to be so mean. Annie was right. That _was_ reckless and stupid. There's more to sake than just their freedom and reputation. Now is not the time to be playing childish games. You'll be hurting more people than you think," she told her.

Lizzy's eyes widened. Mina was never nice to her. She was more aggressive than Annie, that was for sure. The blue-haired girl smiled, turned and began to jog after her friends.

"You might want to put ice on that!" she called over her shoulder.

…

Annie walked through the forest beside Kadic, alone. She wanted to be by herself, right now. She didn't want to deal with real life drama. Not with Lizzy, not with Jasper, not even with Jace's most recent disappearance. She wanted out just for a few moments. She heard a rustling and turned to a bush in the forest. She saw nothing.

All of a sudden, she felt a presence behind and turned around. She only had time to register the boy's face – about fifteen, unusual green hair and brown eyes – before he covered her head with something. She was about to scream when a hard hit to the head knocked her out.

…

A/N: Wow...that was _way_ different than I originally planned...Oh, well. Now I've got something to work with! ^_^

REVIEW!


	53. Angelo Boticelli

A/N: Um, hey guys? How was Valentine's Day? Well, I found out something pretty interesting. My Creative Writing teacher used to be an FBI agent...and he used to carry a gun...and he actually shot someone...

I really don't know if he killed that person. I asked, "Have you ever killed someone?" and he answered, "Mm-hmm."

…

…

…

"Mm-hmm 'yes' or Mm-hmm 'no'?"

...

Chapter 52

Annie's vision was blurred. She tugged on her hands and found that they were bound by something heavy and metallic. She tried to move around but then she realized that she was restricted. Wherever she was, it was small and compact. The sound of people talking caught her attention. They were distant but were loud enough for her to hear them clearly.

"Why did you bring her here?"

She recognized the voice to be a woman's.

"I saw her and took the opportunity. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

The second one - a boy's.

"You idiot! They have others to work the super computer. She can't even deactivate the tower! What makes you think she is _so_ important as to hinder them from their duties?" asked the woman in a harsh tone.

"She is essential to all of them in a way that will definitely distract them. They will come looking for her," said the boy.

"And what will happen if they find our hiding place? I have worked too hard and too long for all my hard work to be ruined by these juvenile vigilantes!"

Annie's head raised at the woman's raise in voice. The boy's voice was a lot more calmer than the woman's.

"Fine then. I'm sorry. I will move her somewhere that will not reveal our location," he told her.

"Move who?"

The pinkette's eyes snapped wide open when she recognized the young girl's voice. She searched around the little space she was put in and felt that her surroundings were made of wood. Annie concluded that she was stuck in a closet. A sliver of light came from in front of her and she peaked through it. She could barely see anything other than white. She caught sight of a wave of purple-highlighted black hair as the teen girl walked past the closet.

"Who are you?" asked Jace.

…

Katerina looked at her pupil as the teenage girl stared at the boy's unfamiliar face. She had to look up, of course, since the green-haired boy was 5'7". At first, she thought she was staring at him because of his obvious attractiveness but Katerina eventually figured out that she was scrutinizing the boy. The woman didn't blame her. Jace had no reason to trust any man. The bruises on her arms proved the consequences and actions men could perform. Katerina silently thanked God that XANA had no perverted side. Only anger. The bruise on Jace's face had begun to fade away but you could still see it. She wore no sweater or jeans right now because she wasn't going out. She was dressed in a black T-shirt and purple shorts.

To make a long story short, Jace looked like someone had just beat the hell out of her.

"My name is Angelo Botticelli. I'm of Italian descent. XANA brought me here to work for him. Though I do not entirely understand my duties, I understand that I am here, at least, to help XANA destroy the world," he said in an emotionless voice.

Jace raised an eyebrow.

"And you're completely fine with that?" she questioned.

He shrugged.

"XANA took me in and I plan on following whatever orders he gives me. I owe him so much already," he answered.

Jace rolled her eyes and turned to Katerina.

"Where did XANA get this guy?" she asked.

"He was working as a slave in some country in the Middle East. Illegal slavery, of course. XANA wanted someone strong and smart to carry out his duties because he doesn't trust us and doesn't have enough time to be activating towers and taking over people. Angelo was desperate and knew a thing or two about repaying a debt. He won't hesitate to do anything XANA – his 'master', I guess – tells him to do. He's practically brainwashed," she answered, speaking about him like he wasn't even there.

Angelo paid no mind to them and proceeded to open the closet containing his latest captive. Inside, Annie was chained to the back wall of the closet. She blinked rapidly at the sudden rush of light. Jace stared at her in awe.

"Y-you kidnapped her..." she trailed off.

"Obviously," he said, grabbing her neck and tilting her head back.

He pulled a small vial out of his pocket and Jace lunged forward. He tried to shake her off while she herself tried to take it away.

"What the hell is that stuff?" she asked.

Angelo scoffed.

"I don't plan on killing her," he said. "Just knocking her out."

He poured the contents of the vial into her mouth and she was out like a light. Jace stared at her friend helplessly before hearing the front door open and turning to watch the man XANA was controlling this time. He was tall and dark-haired with tanned skin and big, green eyes. He noticed the girl in Angelo's arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, care to explain to me what's going on?" he asked.

"Angelo kidnapped Jeremie Belpois's daughter. He mindlessly brought here and now he's just taking her to a separate location so as not reveal our hiding spot," Katerina answered.

XANA looked to Jace.

"And...do you have any objection to his decision, Jasmine?" he questioned.

The girl just turned tail and walked out the door. XANA turned back to Angelo with a satisfied smile.

"Take her to the cage. Catch up with Jace. Tell her that I told her to show you where it is," he told him.

Angelo nodded and walked out the door. Katerina stared after him with a defeated look. XANA frowned at her.

"Don't you have work to do?"

…

Angelo ran – or _tried_ to run – after Jace. He had thrown Annie over his shoulder so he was slightly thrown off-balance. Years of being a slave and lifting heavy stuff had really come in handy. Finally, he caught up with her, slowing down as she walked forward, anger coming off of her in waves. Angelo took the time to notice how short she was. This girl couldn't be more than 5'2" and she had the gall to stand up to a man like him. Granted, they were probably the same age but he was bigger and could easily overpower her. She glanced up at him and quickly looked away, seemingly unsatisfied with his presence.

"XANA said to tell you to show me where the cage was," he said.

Jace stopped, looking down at the floor. She looked deep in thought.

"Jasmine," he said, extending his hand out.

She flinched away from him, glaring daggers. He pulled his hand away.

"Follow me," she said in a distant tone.

They walked through the forest for about ten minutes when they finally came to a big, rusty cage. It looked old but it was still very strong. Jace opened it up and turned to Angelo. He placed Annie in it and she closed the door. He looked at her as she stared at the cage as if she was reminiscing.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"This is where it all started," she mumbled, rubbing her bruised arm without really thinking about it.

"What?" he asked in a confused tone.

She glanced up at him and shook her head, snapping out of her daydream.

"Nothing. I'm going. Stay and watch her. Don't do anything reckless," she ordered, looking at him with a suspicious glare.

Without another word, Jace turned and walked back the way they had come.

Angelo stared after her with a perplexed expression on his face. He sighed and ran after her. He grabbed her shoulder about to announce that he didn't want her to keep secrets from him when she grabbed his wrist and with a flick of her hand, he was on his stomach. She twisted his arm behind his back with her right hand and kept her left hand on his neck. She glared at him and pulled slightly on his arm, making him grunt in pain.

"Stop! Please!" he begged.

She narrowed her eyes at him before letting go and backing away from him. Angelo stared up at the little girl in front of him, amazed that she had made him submit so easily.

"Touch me again and next time, I'll rip your arm right out of your socket," she hissed before walking away.

...

The Lyoko Warriors were all standing in the forest except for Kevin, looking for signs of their missing comrade. Aaren and Caleb studied the ground while everyone else searched through everything else.

"Well, obviously, she was kidnapped," concluded Caleb.

"By who?" asked Jasper, trying to keep his emotions under control.

"XANA, I'm guessing," he answered.

"Hey, guys! I found her cell phone!" called Emma, waving the pink object high in the air.

"She must have dropped it while the kidnapper was taking her away," said Mina.

Aaren stared at the pink piece of technology.

"Damn! We can't even track her now! Where the hell is Kevin?" he asked Emma.

"He's at the counselor's office. He couldn't cancel," she answered.

…

(A/N: For the record, this part was sort of influenced by the episode 'Plagued' where Jeremie receives an aptitude test.)

The dark-haired boy sat down in the counselor's office, staring blankly at the old man in front of him. His name was Hans Klotz but he referred to himself as 'Mr. Simone'. Kevin leaned back, annoyed that he was stuck here talking to his guidance counselor when he should be helping to look for Annie. The old man fixed some papers and folded his hands together.

"Mr. Stern, I have found that you are a very gifted student, possessing an IQ of 146. As you may well know, that is past the point where you are labeled as a genius," he answered.

Kevin grunted and nodded in response. Mr. Simone smiled.

"Well, I'm going to give you an aptitude test to see where you are at," he said.

"And if I pass?" Kevin asked.

"Then I will take into my own hands to see that you consider your options. After all, passing this test means that you are a very gifted student. Gifted students belong to places where they can enhance their knowledge and become the best of the best. Passing the test means that I'll be looking into possible changes in your educational curriculum," he told him, handing him a paper and a pencil.

Kevin rolled his eyes a grabbed the paper, picking up the pencil. He looked at the first question.

_What year did the Korean War end?_

Kevin sighed and quickly wrote down his answer.

_1953_

…

A/N: Ending it there for now. Yeah, I suck but hey! Be happy that I updated at all! ^_^ Anyways, please review! V-Day madness has got me freaking busy as hell! Sometimes, I really hate school! -_-*

REVIEW!


	54. Chaos

A/N: Yay! Over 300 reviews! You guys make me so happy!

...

Chapter 53

Jasper and Caleb walked past a large, brown tree when they heard some rustling come from the bushes. They quickly hid down to see who was coming. To their immense surprise, Jace stepped out. She looked beaten and battered but still, in a way, powerful. The girl looked around as if she was angry, like someone had just told her that she was stupid and ugly. The pair watched her closely. Jace turned around they way she had come, looking like she was staring back at something in the distance. When an angry huff, she started walking back in the direction she had been going. When she left Jasper and Caleb came out, still staring at her retreating back.

"One of us should follow her," said the blonde.

"You go. She looked like she was checking back on something, like there was something behind her that she wanted to remain hidden. It might be where she hid Annie," suggested Jasper.

"You go that way and I'll follow Jace, got it?" he asked in a hushed tone.

The redhead nodded.

"Go."

Jasper ran in the direction he figured Jace was coming from. After running for about ten minutes, he was going to give up when he heard voices. He stopped and leaned towards them, trying to make out their words.

…

"Why did you bring me here?" asked Annie.

"Because I need to help XANA. I need to please my master," he answered.

"XANA can't be your 'master'! People aren't meant to have 'masters'! We're meant to be free!" she retorted, slapping the metal bars as if to emphasize her point.

Angelo just shook his head.

"That's not the way I was raised," he told her, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Annie stared at him with a questioning look on her face.

"How exactly _were_ you raised?" she asked.

He glanced at her.

"I was born a slave. I was raised as a slave would be raised. Obey your master. Please your master. Do whatever it takes to take care of you master for you owe him everything. Even your own life," he told her solemnly.

Annie frowned.

"XANA doesn't deserve a human life!" she argued.

Angelo raised an eyebrow.

"I was sentenced to death for defending a young girl from a disgusting police officer. If XANA had not intervened, I would not be standing here right now. In clean clothes. Healthy," he said, looking up at her.

"Well, the way you're going no one's gonna be alive much longer," came a voice from behind him. Angelo turned around to see a red-haired boy stepping out of the brush. Annie's face lit up.  
"Jasper!" she said in relief.

He nodded in recognition, keeping his eyes focused on the green-haired boy in front of him. Angelo took up a defensive position, placing his fists in front of him as if he was expecting a fight. Jasper held his hands out in front of him.

"I don't want to fight," he told the boy.

Angelo raised an eyebrow and steeled his expression.

"Well, then. Today is not your lucky day," he said, lunging forward.

…

Jace heard foot steps behind her and turned around, catching a glimpse of a tuft of dirty blonde hair darting into the bushes. She smirked.

"Come out, Caleb," she said.

The blonde came out and faced her, an annoyed expression on his face. She grinned.

"Hmph. It's official," she said.

"What's official?" he asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"You suck at sneaking around," she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Shut up!" he snapped.

"Watch the language," she told him.

"Who are you to tell me that? You're younger than me," he grounded out.

Jace rolled her eyes at the statement.

"Age doesn't matter," she said.

Caleb huffed at her and changed into a fighting position, placing his legs apart from each other and rolling his hands into fists.

"Enough chit-chat. I need to bring you back and that's what I'm going to do," he said in a confident voice.

"Cocky, much?" she laughed out.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Don't think I won't hold back just because you're a girl," he told her.

Jace smirked and bounced lightly from side-to-side.

"Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're a boy," she retorted, balling her fists.

Caleb frowned at her but kept quiet. He couldn't afford to be distracted, right now.

…

Kevin walked out of the counselor's office feeling thoroughly annoyed when a laser came out of nowhere. He ducked and it went over his head. He looked around and his eyes narrowed in on three Kankrelats standing in front of his.

"Tch. Now he's bringing his monsters to the real world?" he asked himself.

He grabbed the thing nearest to him – which happed to be the pencil in his hand – and threw at the first Kankrelat, hitting it's Eye. The other two charged forward and Kevin started running, pulling out his cell phone. He dialed Aaren's number. He picked up after the second ring.

"You've reached the phone of Aaren Della Robbia! Please leave a message after the-"

"Aaren! XANA's attacking! He's sent monsters to attack the school. He chose a really bad time to do it, actually. Everyone's in their dorms. Any luck with Annie?" he asked.

"Shit! No. It seems that Caleb and Jasper are missing, too. What do we do?" Aaren asked.

Kevin thought for a moment.

"Do you have Caleb's bag?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"The manual about Lyoko should probably still be in there. Check it," he ordered.

Kevin heard the sound of a zipper open and listened as Aaren went through Caleb's things.

"Found it," said Aaren.

"Give it to Emma. She can understand it. Get to Lyoko, I'll be there in a few minutes. If you can't get a hold of Jasper or Caleb then I'll take care of the tower. First, I need to take care of these monsters," he said, hanging up.

Dodging left into the hallways, Kevin was surprised when he bumped into someone. He backed up a step and looked upwards at the man's face. It was Kyo.

"What's up, otouto?" he asked.

"XANA's attacking. He's brought monsters into the school."

His declaration was soon followed by a loud scream. Kyo's head snapped in the direction of the sound. He nodded and stared down at Kevin.

"You have a job to do in Lyoko. I'll take care of the mess here," he said, rushing off.

"How are you going to take care of the monsters?" asked Kevin.

Kyo turned around with smirk and pulled a gun out of his pocket.

"I'm not in the Yakuza for nothing, y'know."

…

Caleb was getting frustrated. Jace was just playing with him. Every time he would attack, she'd just dodge it. When it was her turn to retaliate, she just jumped in and out of his personal space, landing a couple of punches here and there. He frowned at her.

"I thought you said that you weren't going to hold back!" he shouted at her.

She grinned and looked like she was about to retort when she fell to the ground, gripping her head tightly in her hands. Her face twisted in pain, looking as if she was trying to to scream.

"Jace?" he questioned quietly.

A puff of purple-gray came out from the gauntlet on her hand. It went into her mouth and up her nostrils. She shook slightly as the virus overtook her before opening her eyes. Caleb gaped at the symbol burned black into her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak and her voice was distorted.

"Now, I will no longer hold back."

A flash of lightning flew out of her hand, causing him to dodge left.

…

Kevin managed to get to the factory just as Aaren and Mina finished their virtualizations. He saw Emma working the super computer.

"I take it you're doing alright," he guessed as he headed to the scanner room.

"Yeah. The tower's in the Polar Sector. Mina and Aaren are dealing with the monsters," she said.

He nodded and ran into the first scanner. Emma started up the virtualization process.

"Transfer Kevin. Scanner Kevin. Virtualization."

Kevin landed lightly on his feet and looked up ahead. Mina and Aaren were currently blocking attacks coming from two Krabes. He ran forward.

"Duplicate!"

He made a clone of himself and ran to the first Krabe. He got shot once but his clone managed to get there, sinking his spikes into it. The clone was instantly de-virtualized from the explosion. Kevin jumped next to Mina.

"Nice of you to stop by," she commented, using her blades to block the Krabe's laser.

"You couldn't have gotten here earlier? I just got the crap kicked out of me and now I'm down to forty life points," Aaren told him.

Kevin shrugged.

"Guys, XANA's sending more monsters," Emma told them.

Three Kankrelats and three Hornets appeared in front of them.  
"Aw, no. Not these three stooges," Aaren complained, motioning towards the Kankrelats.

"Well, another two copies of those stooges are running a muck back in Kadic. Kyo's handling them but I don't know how he'll fair," said Kevin.

Aaren teleported towards the first Hornet. He managed to de-virtualize it but got hit by another Hornet. He hit the ground with a loud _thump_.

"Ouch," he muttered.

"Twenty life points, Aaren," said Emma.

Mina ran forward, dodging lasers and cut through two of the Kankrelats with her swords before jumping up and landing on top of the Krabe. It tried to shake her off so she had to try and balance herself. It's laser charged up and shot out, hit Kevin's shoulder.

"Sixty life points," said Emma.

"Yeah, I know."

Mina finally found her balance and dug her sword into the Krabe's Eye before getting hit by one of the Hornets. She flew off of the Krabe before it exploded and landed on her back. Getting up, she was hit by a shot from the last Kankrelat. Kevin took care of that one pretty easily.

"Now there are just two Hornets left," said Aaren.

Kevin turned to Mina.

"I'm going to throw you in the air. Think you can manage to hit, at least, one of them?" he asked her.

"Let's give it a shot," she answered.

Kevin placed his hands on her waist before throwing her at the Hornets. They flew sideways to avoid her but she managed to throw one of her swords at one of the Hornets. It hit the Eye of XANA and was instantly devirtualized. Mina screamed as she fell, realizing where she was headed.

To the Digital Sea.

…

Jasper dodged left, dodged right. He had no formal training other than what Aaren and Kevin had taught him and it looked like Angelo was a lot better at fighting than he was. Jasper grunted as Angelo punched him hard on the face, causing him to fly backwards. He hit the ground hard.

"Oomph!"

Angelo stared at the boy in front of him. He was pretty sure that the boy couldn't take many more hits. Jasper surprised him by sitting up, trying to keep himself steady with his arm. He wiped away the blood that had leaked out from his mouth. The green-haired boy glared angrily at him.

"Why don't you just give up?" he shouted at Jasper.

The redhead rose shakily to his feet. Annie pushed forward against the metal cage.

"Jasper, just give up! At this rate, you'll get seriously injured!" she told him.

He shook his head. Angelo frowned.

"Why are you so stubborn?" he asked angrily.

Jasper's gaze focused on the pinkette standing inside the cage. She did not belong there. She shouldn't be locked up in a cage. He reverted his eyes back to Angelo.

"I know it may not make much sense to you but...I love her. And no matter what, I am going to fight for her."

...

A/N: That was okay, I think.

I'm thinking of ending this story in about 10-15 chapters. Maybe up to 20. Whatya think? Might even put a sequel up. Check my profile for a few details.

TELL ME YOUR OPINION IN THE FORM OF A REVIEW!


	55. Ultimatum

A/N: Sorry for the late update! I was at my grandma's house for the weekend and there's no Internet there. ( -_-*)

I've been noticing that Aaren's been getting a little more mature over the course of my chapter. (^_^) =(^_^)=(^_^)=(^_^)

I love emoticons! XD

...

Chapter 54

Caleb grunted as he was thrown to the ground. Damn! A XANA-possessed Jace was worse than Kevin in bad mood! The blonde got to his feet quickly and blocked another punch from Jace. He grabbed her arm and flipped her onto her back. She did a Chinese get-up and proceeded to hit him with a roundhouse to the stomach.

"Ugh!" he grounded out.

That freaking hurt! Jace raised her hand to him and a bolt of lightning shot out of her hand. Caleb ran to the side and managed to dodge the attack by a hair breadth. He straightened himself. He knew that he was a mess. Bruised, battered and bleeding...he was not a pretty picture. He dodged another bolt of lightning and hid behind a tree.

From the looks of it, running was his only option.

"Damn," he cursed, taking off into the woods.

Jace was hot on his tail.

…

Mina waited for the feeling of darkness, of nothingness that came with falling into the digital sea...but it never came. She opened her eyes and realized that she was in Aaren's arms while he stood behind Kevin as he deflected the Hornet's lasers. She stared at the boy looking down at her. He looked – for lack of a better word – freaked out.

_He teleported and managed to catch me before I fell into the Digital Sea_, she suddenly realized.

Aaren placed her down on her feet.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

She nodded. He grinned.

"Good."

All of a sudden, his grin turned into a frown as his eyes focused on Kevin.

"You god damn idiot! You almost threw Mina into the Digital Sea!" he shouted at his friend.

"Oh, shut up. I knew you'd catch her," he retorted.

Aaren looked like he was about to strangle his best friend when said friend started doing back flips to avoid the Hornet's lasers. He flipped past Aaren and the blonde got hit by a laser, causing himself to be devirtualized.

A loud hiss was heard as the doors to the scanner opened. Aaren stumbled out.

"God, sometimes, I really hate that dude."

Kevin blocked another laser. His eyebrow twitched.

"This is getting annoying," he said and used the biggest spike on his gloves to deflect the laser at the Hornet.

It hit it's Eye and it exploded.

"Well, that takes care of everything. Get to the tower," said Mina.

"Roger that," Kevin mumbled, running towards the tower.

…

Annie watched helplessly as Jasper tried to dodge Angelo's punches. He was at the point where he was in dire need of medical attention. The pinkette seriously didn't know how Jasper had refrained from fainting from blood loss. He blocked Angelo's punch with his forearm and jumped backwards about five feet. He bent down on one knee, coughing into his hand. Blood spewed out in little droplets and he wiped them on his shirt which was already stained with blood.

Jasper rose and winced from the pain that one action evoked. His breathing was heavy. If something didn't happen, he knew that he wouldn't last long. He didn't think that this Angelo boy wasn't above killing him. He was working for XANA, his hands were probably already tainted. The redhead gritted his teeth and resumed his fighting position.

Angelo frowned at the action but acknowledged it nevertheless.

"If this is how you want it, then I'll have no choice but to kill you," he told Jasper.

The red-haired boy stared him down.

"I don't think you have enough time for that," he muttered, lunging at Angelo.

…

Kyo sighed and placed his hand on his hip tiredly.

_Ugh. How did I end up fighting monsters and trying to save the world. I'm a criminal, not a superhero!_

The two Kankrelats rested as his feet, broken and dead.

"How troublesome," he mumbled to himself.

"Hey, you!" shouted a voice from behind him.

Kyo turned around and looked down at the dwarf-like figure in front of him. He recognized the man to be the principle of Kadic. He stared at him lazily.

"Jesus, more nuisances. What do you want?" he asked, annoyed.

Mr. Delmas raised an eyebrow.

"I just wanted to thank you for killing those things. They were wrecking havoc on this school. However, my only concern is...why do you have a gun?" he questioned.

Kyo smirked.

"That's none of your concern. I've got to go, anyways, so goodbye, Mr. Delmas," he said, turning his back on the principle.

_Tch. How annoying_.

…

Kevin ran to the middle of the platform and was levitated up to the second. The screen appeared in from of him and he placed his hand on it.

KEVIN

CODE:

L-Y-O-K-O

"Tower deactivated," he announced.

Emma nodded and pressed several buttons before pressing ENTER.

"Return to the Past now."

…

Caleb flew backwards, blood spurting out of his mouth as his back hit the trunk of a tree. The Jace before raised her hand to deliver the final shot when she stopped. The grayish-black smoke came out through her mouth and nose before disappearing completely. She fell to the ground in front of him, twitching.

Caleb sighed in relief as the white light engulfed him.

…

Jasper collapsed, blood leaking down from his mouth and a cut on his cheek. He stared up at the pinkette caged in front of him. That sight pained him in ways unknown.

"I love you," he mouthed at her as he finally blacked out.

"Jasper!" she shouted.

All thoughts were stopped when the light from the Return to the Past took over.

…

Birds singing. Leaves brushing against leaves. Everything felt just a little more peaceful. Annie heard a knock on her door, snapping her out of her daydream. Her head turned to the entrance of her room and she jumped off of her bed.

"Guys, seriously. I just wanna be al-" she stopped when she realized who was at the door.

The red-haired boy in front of her stared at her, an unfathomable expression on his face.

"Jasper," she choked out.

He nodded in acknowledgement.

"Hey, Annie," he greeted her.

She looked at him, her mind totally blank. He shifted uncomfortably.

"May I come in?" he asked.

She snapped out of her trance and nodded, moving so that he could enter. He stood in front of her computer, staring at the screen. She sat down on her bed, looking at him carefully.

"Jasper, I-" she started out but was interrupted.

"May I speak first?" he requested.

She closed her mouth and nodded, staring at the floor. He moved away from her computer and sat down next to her, staring forward. She wondered what he wanted to say.

"Look, I just wanted to tell you that everything I said in the forest...was the truth. I wanted to tell you that day but you went missing. I can't find the words to express how much it pained me when I found out that you were kidnapped. Just the _thought_ of you being manhandled by some guy like that made me so...angry. I couldn't defend myself well enough, I couldn't _fight_ well enough, to help you and I'm sorry for that. I don't know what else to say, just that I feel so _guilty_ for letting you down. When it came down to it...I couldn't protect you," he told her sadly.

She placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked like he was in so much pain.

"Jasper. I don't blame you for not being able to fight off that Angelo guy. He was just stronger. You need to learn from past mistakes and use them to make you a better person whether it's in fighting or in life. I understand, Jazz. Don't you know how bad I felt, seeing you there...bleeding and bruised. I thought that you were going to die and just that thought made me feel like my heart was going to explode from the pain."

She grabbed his face and turned his head so that he could look at her.

"It's too early for 'I love you'. I'm not the kind of girl to let myself fall in love so easily...but I _do_ care about you, Jasper. I hope you understand that," she told him.

He nodded and stood up to leave.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I figured the atmosphere was too awkward for you," he answered, placing his hand on the door knob.

Annie sighed and walked up to him. She turned him around and wrapped her arms around his body, burying her face in his chest. His eyes softened at her and his arms rose up and wrapped themselves around her as he hugged her back. Her voice was slightly muffled as she spoke but he heard her words clearly.

"I really do like you, Jazz. I'm just not sure if I'm in love with you. Love is a pretty strong emotion. It can make you strong but it can hurt you, too," she told him quietly.

"I'll never hurt you, Annie," he told her, stroking her pink hair.

She sighed and pulled away, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, I know."

…

The group had gathered around their usual spot in the courtyard of Kadic. The scene looked pretty peaceful but their conversation was anything _but_ peaceful. Mina sighed quietly as she heard Caleb's side of the story.

"So, Jace was being controlled?" she asked him.

He nodded.

"Well, that doesn't excuse her for joining his side. She still fought against Caleb _before_ she was controlled," Emma pointed out.

"But she held back," he told them.

The navy-haired girl looked at him, exasperated and unsure.

"You sure?" she asked.

"Positive."

Mina sighed.

"Our plan isn't working out very well. We need to find a way to speed up our progression," said Annie.

"And this 'Angelo' dude? Doesn't seem like he and Jace would get along at all. He's a lot more loyal to XANA than anyone would be," Aaren said.

"He's definitely dangerous," Kevin muttered.

The group became silent. Emma looked up at all of them.

"So what do we do?" she asked.

Aaren shrugged.

"Do what we have to do. If we manage to even _see_ Jace, we don't stop until we catch her or she knocks us out. She's near Kadic, that's for sure. Keep an eye out," he said.

He looked like he was about to continue when annoying voice popped up.

"Kevin, can I speak with you?"

Kevin sighed and massaged his temples, nearly cringing at the sound of Stephanie's voice.

"Why the hell is it always me?" he mumbled tiredly, deciding to just follow her and get it over with.

…

Jace burst into the laboratory and saw the same XANA talking to Angelo and Katerina. He turned around when he heard the noise and frowned at her.

"Jasmine," he acknowledged.

"How _dare_ you? Taking control of me? I was doing fine all by myself!" she shouted at him.

XANA shot her a glare.

"You were taking to long to kill him. Unlike Angelo, you hesitated and toyed with the young Belpois boy. You should've been smart and snapped his neck. Instead, you held back when you knew you could've done it. I also know that you are still in love with that idiot, Kevin Stern. Jasmine, you are the strongest young woman I have ever met but you are also the most stubborn. That is why I am giving you a choice," he told her.

Jace raised an eyebrow.

"What choice?" she grounded out.

He stared into her eyes, all business. She held his gaze with one of her own, unable to look away.

"Either follow my orders and do what you _know_ I'd want you to do _without _question or hesitation...or I remove the virus from you and kill you right now," he told her.

Jace's eyes widened. Angelo's face remained emotionless but Katerina shot XANA a fearful look. They all had the same thought running through their heads.

Would he really follow through with that threat?

"B-but I'm your leverage. Kevin will not think twice about sacrificing his life if it meant that you'd die," she told him, fear and shock leaking out of her voice.

XANA shrugged boredly.

"So I'll just transfer the virus into another one of his friends. I don't care. You're becoming less of an asset to me and more of a nuisance. I'm telling you this once...only once. Become my loyal servant and end your relationship with the Stern boy or die," he told her in a harsh tone.

…

A/N: Wow...isn't it weird that I put both a love confession and an ultimatum in one. Review for Jace's answer!

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! PRESS THAT LITTLE BLUE BUTTON AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!


	56. Choice

A/N: WARNING: The following chapter contains extreme angst, some foul language and a few thoughts that are not usually meant for readers under the age of thirteen. Also, this is the first time that I'm going to be writing something as detailed and emotional as this so bear with me and I really hope you guys don't just skim over the words instead of reading the whole freaking thing. Anyways, please read. Be happy because these kids sure as hell aren't.

…

Chapter 55

Jace walked through the woods near Kadic. She told XANA that she needed some time to actually consider the decision of becoming his mindless servant. Katerina had intervened and told XANA that – if she made the decision herself – Jace would be a more committed disciple and would be able to satiate his desire of order and destruction. Right now, though, the fifteen-year-old felt like she was on the verge of crying. Why had such a cruel fate been thrust upon her? She didn't want any of this. She didn't want to have to betray her family, her friends.

She just wanted a normal life!

She wanted her and Kevin to have a normal relationship! She wanted to be standing next to her best friends – Mina, Emma and Annie – and be chatting and giggling about the boys they were falling in love with. Of course, no one seemed to care about what she wanted. Deep down, she actually thought that she deserved this. Maybe she _should_ just tell XANA to kill her. It would be better than having to suffer through all of this. To be hated by her friends and forced to continue such a lonely existence.

"Everyone would be better off without me," she mumbled to herself.

"Come on, Kevin! I know that you still love me!"

The young Della Robbia's eyes snapped open and she walked forward a few more yards. The sight before her broke her heart into little pieces. Stephanie was pressed up tightly against Kevin's body. At that point, Jace just wanted to puke. She watched as Kevin threw her off of his body, glaring at the girl who had just forced herself on him. His eyes glanced up at her and he looked scared and angry at the same time.

Jace was mortified. Without thinking twice, she turned left and started running. She needed to get away from them. Away from _him_.

"Stephanie, I never want to talk to you or see your face ever again! Leave me the hell alone!" she heard him shout.

Jace pushed her legs harder, wanting to get away faster. She heard his foot steps behind her and knew that Kevin was chasing her.

_Why did he have to go and do that? Why did I have to see that? Why does he have the ability to break my heart?_

Questions flooded her mind, feeding her pain. They had run for more than fifty yards and he still couldn't catch up to her.

"Jace, please stop!" he shouted, now able to raise his voice without fearing that someone would hear.

She turned around and glared at him. He stopped abruptly, about ten feet away from her. He didn't look surprised at her angry stare. It took her three seconds to register the fact that tears were running down her face. She felt the tears with her fingers and gazed at the clear liquid on her skin. Jace lifted her head and glowered at the boy in front of her.

"Why should I stop? So you can hurt me again? So you can make me feel like shit?" she screamed at him.

Kevin's blank stare turned angry and he retorted.

"_I'm_ the one hurting _you_? Jesus, did you ever consider that _maybe_ it was _you_ hurting everyone else? While you go off, working for XANA, the rest of us and practically bleeding our hearts out because of you! Your actions are killing us!" he shouted.

She stared him down and shook her head.

"I saw you kissing Stephanie. Do you plan on _fucking_ her, too?" she asked with venom.

Kevin couldn't believe his ears. What the hell had Jace just asked him? Was she _nuts_? Perhaps she finally _had_ lost her mind while under XANA's control.

"Are you fucking stupid or something? There's no way I'd lay a hand on someone who's probably infected with ten types of STDs," he retorted.

"Your hands may not have laid themselves on her but you're lips seemed to be pretty busy," she answered with an evil tone in her voice.

Kevin glared at her. He had confirmed it. Jace had positively lost her fucking mind.

"Gosh, stop being such an idiot! I pushed her off of me! Do I _look_ like I wanted her to jump me? That woman is as crazy as a someone in a mental ward and has an idiocy that can compete with Lizzy," he told her.

Jace closed her mouth, trying to calm down. It would do her no good to argue with him. Knowing herself, her anger would morph into passion and he'd be in a position where he could sweet talk her into doing something that she would most likely regret.

_He kissed her._

Jace was pretty sure that what he was telling her – that he hated the blonde idiot – was true but she just...didn't want to. She wanted to be angry. Angry at him. She wanted to hate him and every single thing about him She wanted a reason for her image of him – charming, smart, perfect – to become distorted. She wanted something that would make her hate him so that the decision she had been given would feel less like an ultimatum and more like her own decision.

_He kissed her_.

"I hate you," she whispered.

Kevin raised an eyebrow, showing that he didn't catch her words.

"What?" he asked.

She raised her eyes to him. They blazed brightly with fury.

"I HATE YOU!" she screeched.

A flash of pain moved across his features which was then replaced by anger. Now it was Kevin's turn to feel rage. At that moment he wanted to do a variety of actions to her. First, he wanted to strangle her. He wanted to wring her neck until she could never speak those hurtful words that had just punched a hole in his chest. Second, he wanted to kiss her. Kiss her until the pain in his chest subsided and he could let her mend his broken heart. He wanted to kiss her until her lips were swollen and red and he wouldn't have given a damn. Third, he wanted to just throw her over his shoulder and bring her back to Kadic, kicking and screaming the whole way. He was probably capable of doing the third action but he knew that she could possibly pull all of his hair out, dig her fingers into his eye sockets and pound into his spinal cord until it snapped.

Three actions. No solutions. He positively hated his life, right now.

"Jace, just shut up," he told her in a low voice, the anger evident.

She young girl shook her head.

"No. I hate you too much," she told him.

He smirked.

"We both know that isn't true," he said.

"Maybe to you it isn't since that overly confident brain of yours can't take a hint but to me, the hate is there. The resentment is there. I should never have become attached to you. I should never have given my heart to you when – sooner or later – you would've broken it. So get this through that thick-ass head of yours. I hate you. You mean nothing to me," she hissed.

Kevin froze and bent his head so that his bangs covered his was serious. She truly hated him. Maybe he _was_ a little over confident. He had just been so sure of her love. The last time they were together was probably the best night of his life and he had thought that it was her way of telling him that she loved him and always would.

"So you were just playing me?" he asked.

Jace shook her head, knowing what he was thinking about.

"I've just fallen out of love with you, Kevin," she told him.

Jace fought to keep her composure. She knew that she was lying to herself but...this would make her strong. Strong enough to keep herself from hurting again. Strong enough to steel her emotions and survive. She wanted to survive on the emotion filling her body at this very moment.

Hate.

Suddenly, Jace was very aware of Kevin's change in attitude. He stared up at her, all emotion wiped from his face. He raised his fists and took up a fighting position.

"Then I guess that it can't be helped. I have a job to do. I'm bringing you back," he told her.

Jace glared at him.

"You can try."

Taking that as an invitation, Kevin ran at her, aiming his punches at her face. Anger only drove him farther. Jace fought back with equal fervor. She blocked his attack with her hands but whenever he left an opening, she would strike back. The fight was a lose-lose situation, though. All the actions she was inflicting on him were mirrored onto her own body. When she punched his cheek, she felt the pain of that punch on her own face even though it was slightly nullified by the effects of Katerina's serum.

Kevin launched a kick at her side and she blocked it with her elbow. She tried to roundhouse his legs but he did a back flip to avoid it and gain some distance between them. He landed lightly on his feet and stared at his opponent, sizing her up. Jace did the same. They ran forward at the same time, fighting with more ferocity than they had ever used before. It had the same effect, though. They each knew each other's techniques so well already.

Punch. Block. Kick. Dodge. Jab. Back away. Hook. Block. Roundhouse. Dodge. _Fight. Fight. Fight_.

Suddenly, Jace was very aware of a presence behind her and she knew that Kevin was, too. Backing away, she glanced over her shoulder and saw the green-haired boy staring at her intensely. Angelo had been there the whole time to see how she would react to Kevin. If she would fight back or give in. He looked satisfied with her reactions. She turned her head back to watch Kevin who was currently glaring at the boy behind her.

She smirked.

"Angelo," she called out, still keeping her eyes on Kevin.

The dark-haired boy returned his gaze to hers.

"Yes, Jasmine?" Angelo responded.

"I've made my choice," she told him.

Kevin could do nothing but watch the scene unfold between them. Choice? What choice? The boy with the unusual green hair seemed to understand what she was talking about and he felt another bout of rage come on. Had she replaced him with this asshole?

"I can see that. Are you going to end this fight, then? Leaving him out here by himself, though. He could get sick and die. XANA would not be pleased," he said.

Kevin raised an eyebrow at XANA's name but kept his guard up, nonetheless.

"Aaren's number is in my phone. Tell him where Kevin's body is so that he can get him," she told him.

Angelo shrugged.

"Whatever, just get it over with," he ordered.

Jace nodded and raised her hand to her neck. Kevin's eyes zeroed in on the action, wondering what she was planning on doing. She placed her fingers on her carrot artery and pressed down harshly, momentarily stopping the blood flow to her brain. In an instant, she was unconscious and so was Kevin. Angelo stared between the two bodies before walking forward and pulling Jace's cellphone out of her pocket. He wasn't one hundred percent sure how to work the object but he knew how to call and look through her contacts. He scrolled down.

AAREN DELLA ROBBIA.

He pressed SEND and raised the phone to his ear. Two rings passed before someone picked up.

"Hello! You have reached the phone of Aaren Della Robbia! State your business an-"

"If you want to save your friend, Kevin Stern, from possibly dying of pneumonia, I suggest you come and find him. He's about two hundred feet northwest of Kadic," he said, hanging up the phone before Aaren could answer.

He placed the phone in his pocket and grabbed Jace's body. He hoisted her onto his back, nearly toppling over in surprise. She was lighter than he had expected her to be. Jace wasn't very heavy compared to heavy food stacks he had been forced to lug around as a slave and he had thought that he would have needed to use more energy to carry her. He sighed and started walking.

Her weight suggested that she was extremely fragile but she could hold up in a fight against that Kevin boy. He walked faster. She had made a difficult choice but he would've done the same in her situation. He felt a sort of kinship to her. They had grown up in different places, had lived different lives but had been forced to make decisions beyond their control.

People like them had to work. They did what they had to do. No matter how bad it got for them, they tried their best to survive because, in reality, it all boiled down to that one thing.

Survival.

...

A/N: Damn...Leave me a review, please!


	57. Upgrade

Chapter 56

"What a bitch!"

Kevin sighed.

"Mina, if you're talking about Jace, please shut up. I'm trying to forget about her, right now," he told his friend.

"Well, I was actually thinking of Stephanie but now that you brought her up – JACE IS A TOTAL BITCH!" she declared.

The dark-haired boy rolled his eyes and laid down on his bed. Mina, Aaren, Caleb and Emma had decided that he needed a freaking therapy session and were currently venting their anger towards Jace. He was getting annoyed. All he wanted to do right now was lock himself inside his room and stare angrily up at his ceiling. Annie and Jasper had gone into over mode, working on the anti-virus program. He was glad that _they_ hadn't tagged along. Seven people in the same room would've been too overbearing.

"Aaren, your girlfriend is annoying the hell out of me. She talks too much," he told his best friend.

"I know that. Did you think I'd go out with a girl who barely said anything? That would suck because there would be no conversation," said Aaren, acting like he had not just insulted his soul mate.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Mina replied icily.

"I knew you'd understand!"

"Permission to inflict physical damage?" Kevin asked Mina.

"Permission granted," she told him.

Kevin's leg shot sideways and collided with Aaren's forehead.

"Ow!" he shouted, rubbing his head. "That is _definitely_ not how you thank someone for saving your life!"

Kevin rolled onto his stomach and sighed boredly.

"Guys, can you get out, please?" he requested.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Emma said hesitantly.

"Yeah, people with broken hearts incline to have suicidal tendencies," added Caleb.

A shoe somehow found it's way to Caleb's stomach.

"Agh! Goddammit!" he shouted.

Aaren laughed.

"Apparently, they also develop tendencies to inflict physical damage!" he laughed out.

The dark-haired boy groaned and buried his face in his pillow.

"God, you people are annoying," he mumbled.

"And you're incredibly pessimistic. Humor us," Emma retorted.

Her brother opened one eye at her.

"Shut up," he said.

"Make me."

"Is it me or is the atmosphere getting just a _little _tense?" asked Caleb, still rubbing his stomach.

"Wow, you're a _genius_. We figured that crap out a _long_ time ago," Mina said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"How about we fix the situation and you all leave?" Kevin suggested in a pessimistic voice.

"Fine then, Grumpy. We're leaving," said Aaren, getting to his feet.

They all shuffled out the door, leaving Kevin by himself. He slowly locked the door and turned, leaning against it. His eyes darted around the room, unfocused. Finally, his brain snapped and he grabbed the thing closest to him – which happened to be his laptop – and threw against the wall. It broke on contact. The hinges came off and the screen cracked as it hit the floor. Kevin sank to his knees, sobbing.

He hated feeling this way! What had he done to deserve this?

"Fuck!" he screamed, tears running down his eyes.

A shard of glass from the broken laptop drew his attention. It was pretty big, about a couple of inches long. He grabbed it, glancing only once at the broke piece of technology on the floor. He didn't care. He could always buy another one.

Instead, he stared at the piece of glass and pressed it lightly to his wrist. A small amount of blood came out, making him relax slightly. It was like the physical pain could slightly dim the emotional pain. He made another cut, slightly deeper and longer this time. More blood came out. He continued to cut himself until there were multiple cut marks on his skin. When it was getting pretty late and he was afraid that Aaren would walk in on him, he put the glass away and quickly bound his arm with some gauze he had found in a first aid kit. He set himself to making everything look like nothing had happened.

When Aaren came back that night, the room was perfectly clean and everything seemed to be in its proper place. The blonde only noticed one odd thing.

Kevin was still fully clothed.

**(Time Skip: February 28)**

It was a Sunday and the Lyoko Warriors were gathered together in the factory. XANA had been pretty quiet for a while and with school, soccer and working on the anti-virus program, the teen heroes didn't have much time for themselves. Kevin – of course – managed to _somehow_ find some free time and would disappear for hours at a time but the group never noticed. They had all been to preoccupied to really take notice of the fact that he looked paler than usual and he was a lot quieter than what was considered normal. In fact, he was barely with them except for things involving Lyoko.

He was a completely different person now.

"Mind telling us what you brought us here for, Caleb?" Mina asked.

The young Belpois just smiled.

"Just get in the scanners and you'll find out," he said.

They all looked at each other in confusion but proceeded to the scanner room. Even Annie and Jasper didn't seem to know what was going on.

"What's he so excited about?" Aaren whispered to Emma.

The brunette shrugged. They all stopped in front of the scanners.

"Ladies first!" Aaren sad cheerfully.

The girls laughed and each got into a scanner. The doors closed around them. The boys stood there, staring at the cylindrical objects in front of them. Caleb got into his big chair and started up the virtualization process. From his position, he could hear the low hum of the scanners below.

"Transfer Mina. Transfer Emma. Transfer Annie."

"Scanner Mina. Scanner Emma. Scanner Annie."

"Virtualization."

The three females were engulfed in white light and found themselves being materialized onto Lyoko. Each landed lightly on their feet. Standing up, they looked around curiously.

"What's going on, Caleb?" asked Emma.

The blonde chuckled.

"Give me a second. I'll virtualize the boys then I'll go shortly after," he told them.

"Who's going to watch the super computer?" asked Mina.

"If something goes wrong, I'll instantly de-virtualize myself. Hold your horses," he laughed out.

After a minute or so, Aaren, Jasper and Kevin appeared in mid-air and landed on their feet – Aaren on his paws. The blonde boy noticed that something was hiding in the pocket on his thigh. He opened it up and pulled out a shuriken (four-pointed star/ninja star).

"Oh, cool. New weapons?" he asked, just as Caleb became materialized on Lyoko.

The young Belpois nodded.

"Yup. I've given everyone an upgrade," he said with a grin.

"Cool! What can we do now?" asked Emma.

"Well, I've given everyone 'powers'. Basically, an enhancement of your naturally occurring abilities on Lyoko," he said.

He smiled at the brunette.

"Emma, you now have the ability of telekinesis and levitation," he told her.

The young girl tilted her head to the side then turned around and looked at the closest boulder which was about half her size. She concentrated on it and it floated about five feet above the ground before flying straight at the group. Everyone ducked as the rock sped by. It landed about thirty feet away. The teens turned to Emma, she was jumping in excitement.

"That is _so_ cool!" she exclaimed.

Caleb looked like he was about to retort when Emma soared up in the air – about three feet. They all stared at her in awe before she panicked and fell to the ground, landing on her butt.

"Ow!" she grunted out.

Caleb smirked.

"You forgot about you levitation. It's influence by your emotions," he told her.

She glared at him. Aaren raised his paw.

"What about me?" he asked.

"Well, I gave you shuriken because your only weapons were your claws and you'd only be able to participate in close combat. This way, you'll be able to attack monsters from a distance," Caleb explained.

"What else did you upgrade?" asked Jasper.

Caleb thought for a while before naming abilities off of the top of his head.

"Aaren got Super Sprint which makes him run ten times faster to go along with his teleportation ability. Mina, you have 'Recovery' which basically lets you regain life points if you are resting. It does it automatically. When you join the two handles of your swords together, they will lock together and can be launched for a long-range attack. It's called 'Heaven's Star'. Annie, you can manipulate the earth around you. You can make rocks bigger, create ice walls and such. Also, you can convert XANA's monsters so that they will obey you but you can only convert one monster at a time. Jasper, yours is pretty cool. You can mutate yourself to take on the form of one of XANA's monsters. It'll come in real handy if you want to fight against a bunch of Krabes using a Megatank. I upgraded myself so that I can turn invisible. I was also able to obtain a sort of radar – I call it 'Echolocation' – which allows me to locate any phenomenon on Lyoko. Emma...I just explained your abilities," he said.

The entire group stared at Caleb in awe, not really knowing what to say. The male Belpois turned to Kevin.

"Sorry, Kev. You didn't really get much of an upgrade. I just made it so that you can shoot the spikes from your hands and I nicknamed your 'kill all monsters' move 'Oblivion'," he said.

The dark-haired boy just grunted in response. Caleb seemed to suddenly realize something.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I gave all of you a very special attack. These attacks are so powerful that they actually deplete your life points so it's not very good to use it often."

They all stared at him silently.

"So what are they?" asked Emma.

The boy smirked.

"Well, I gave them all nicknames so just go along with it. Aaren, I gave you a move called 'Ten-Tailed Tornado'. As the name suggests, you grow ten tails and spin in a fiery tornado, sucking in all monsters and killing them instantaneously. This, however, depletes all of your life points."

Aaren grinned.

"That's freaking _awesome_!" he cheered.

The group laughed at him. Caleb turned to Mina.

"Mina, I gave you a move called 'Ethereal Blades'. It's a move that duplicates your swords until there are twenty. The swords fight for themselves. You'll only be able to maintain the attack for about twenty-five minutes – at the most – because the moves depletes life points at a rate of four life points per minute."

The navy-haired smiled and clutched the handle of her sword with newfound respect.

"Emma. Your move is called Celestial Hurricane. It's basically: You wave your fan in the direction of your enemies and it summons a nearly uncontrollable wind that destroys everything in it's path. I advise that you make sure that we're behind you when you perform this move because – unlike our moves – your wind is so strong that it will instantly de-virtualize us," he told the brunette.

Emma nodded. Caleb turned to his sister.

"Annie, your attack is called the Ultimate Defense. It's not actually an _attack_ but a last line of defense as the name suggests. It takes up fifty life points and covers all monsters in a light pink shield that prevents them from moving anywhere. The monster trapped in it cannot attack, either. Well, they _can_ but the laser will ricochet off of the shield's interior and probably end up killing the monster." he said.

"That seems pretty cool actually," the pinkette commented.

"Glad you think so. Now, Jasper. You have a move called 'Lightning Rain'. You are able to form weather clouds in the sky and lightning comes down wherever you command it. Hundreds can come down at a time like rain which is where I got the name from. You are instantly de-virtualized when you the rain is over. It lasts for about five to ten minutes depending on the amount of life points you have," he said.

Jasper grinned at him.

"Thanks, Caleb," he said.

Caleb nodded in satisfaction.

"So what can _you_ do?" Mina asked.

The blonde smirked.

"I have a move called 'Sonic Blast'. I emit a sonic wave from my mouth that kills all monsters that come into contact with it. It doesn't affect you guys, though. The blast can only be felt by monsters and it probably feels nothing more than a light breeze to us. Unfortunately, it depletes life points at ten points a blast so I shouldn't really use it as something more than a last defense," he said.

"Oh my freaking GOD! You're awesome, Caleb!" Aaren shouted, jumping forward and hugging his friend.

The rest of the group laughed (except for Kevin) and watched as Caleb tried to get Aaren away from him _without_ de-virtualizing his friend. They didn't notice that, far away, someone was watching them.

…

"So they've gotten upgrades?" asked a big red orb floating in mid-air.

The orb was XANA.

"Yes. Their power has increased dramatically. It will be even harder now to defeat them."

The orb floated around the small room it had built itself. The room was located in the Carthage Sector of Lyoko and was _very_ hard to find. XANA had made it nearly impossible for anyone to enter. You had to go down a certain passage way and remember which paths you took on the way down. Otherwise, you would get lost and wouldn't be able to find your way out. The two people standing in the room – a boy and a girl – stared at the globe. One with blank eyes, the other with a weary gaze.

"So what do we do now, Master," asked the boy.

The orb stopped in mid-air and began to morph itself. The two humans didn't find it odd as arms, legs and a head started to grow from the red sphere. It wasn't something uncommon when they were on Lyoko, in this room. After a few seconds, a teenage boy stood in front of them. He had startling red eyes, wavy brown hair and was wear jeans, a red shirt and sneakers. The female raised an eyebrow.

"Well, this is odd. Normally, you're 27 not 17. I thought you didn't like kids," she commented.

"Jasmine, dear. There is always a first time for anything. Anyways, it takes me slightly longer to generate a full-grown male body since they are more detailed than young teenagers so I might as well take on this form," he said, motioning towards his body.

Jace scoffed.

"Whatever," she muttered.

"What was that?" XANA asked in a threatening voice.

The young girl sighed.  
"Nothing," she said.

"Nothing _what_?"

"I'm not calling you 'Master'," she said defiantly.

XANA smirked.

"Then I guess, 'sir' will do for now," he said, seeing no point in arguing with her.

The girl sighed.

"Fine, then..._sir_. What are we going to do now?" she asked, all business.

Angelo raised his head, showing that he was interested in what XANA had to say. The boy in front of them smirked.

"I'm going to give the two of you an upgrade, of course," he answered.

...

A/N: Review!


	58. Reaction

I decided to update today because...TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY! Yay! 02/28/11! I just turned 15! Enjoy!

...

Chapter 57

It was Sunday – the day after the upgrade – and the group was pretty tired. Kadic's soccer team had just finished practice. After beating Eucon, they had beaten two other schools in the district leaving their total win:loss ration at 3:0. Aaren actually thought that they didn't need the practice ("We're gonna kick their asses anyway!" he had said) but Jacob wanted to make sure that his team was in good shape and wasn't getting too cocky. Kevin had shown up late, _again_ and Jacob had given him hell for it. Seriously, dude. _Twenty_ laps around the soccer field for being _five_ minutes late was a bit harsh but Jake didn't want any of his team mates to take the game lightly. He was captain and he wanted to make sure that Kadic took home the championship once again.

"No offense, babe, but your brother's a total ass," Aaren complained to his girlfriend.

Mina rolled her eyes but agreed with him, either way. They were all laying down in the soccer field. Practice had ended more than thirty minutes ago but the group had decided to stay on the field. There was a light breeze and the clouds were covering the sun so it wasn't too hot. Annie and Jasper were sitting next to each other, hands linked. Mina smirked as she thought '_finally'_. Really, it had taken them _so long_ to get together. Caleb was chatting with Emma, competing with her over which country had the best rugby team. Emma loved South Africa but Caleb was adamant about the Dutch being the best. They looked pretty funny. It was like they were having a great time but were about to scratch each other's eyes out.

Kevin had disappeared off to somewhere.

"Anyone know where Kevin is?" asked Mina.

Everyone shrugged and went back to what they were doing. They heard the sounds of foot steps coming and looked up to see Jin running towards them.

"Hey, Squirt," Aaren greeted him.

The boy stopped in front of them, panting.

"Jin, what's wrong?" asked Emma, getting to her feet.

"Kevin...got...into...a fight...with Jake...He said something...and pulled at Kevin's...sleeve...Something's wrong...with him...The fight's still...going on...in the cafeteria. No one's been able to hold him back...so far," he answered in between pants.

The group instantly got to their feet, running towards the school. Aaren took the liberty of pulling Jin onto his back so that the young boy wouldn't die of a stroke while they ran. They got to the cafeteria and there was Kevin, pounding on Jake's face. The soccer captain defended himself well but Kevin was a black belt in Muay Thai, Pencak Silat and Tai Kwon Do. It was very hard to avoid his attacks. Aaren placed Jin down and followed Caleb. They had to push against the crowd that had formed around the fight, though. The two boys saw that Pete was standing off to the side, holding his face and leg. Apparently, he had tried to stop the fight and had taken quite a few hits from Kevin.

Aaren wondered what had pissed him off so much.

He and Caleb jumped forward and pulled Kevin off of Jake, grabbing him roughly. They each had to hold on tightly to one of his arms as he struggled to get away. Mina and Emma rushed forward to examine Jacob. He wasn't so bad because he had blocked most of Kevin's attacks but he hadn't come out completely unscathed. He had a bruised face, a bleeding nose, there were bruises starting to form on his arms where he had blocked Kevin's punches and he was holding his stomach, doubling over in pain.

"Take him to the Infirmary," Mina ordered.

Emma nodded and motioned for Annie to help her. The pinkette moved forward and helped Emma drag Jacob out of the cafeteria. Mina glared at the remaining people.

"Don't you guys have anything better to do?" she snapped.

They turned away and ran back to their tables, afraid that she would inflict _her_ wrath on _them._ She looked at Pete.

"We'll get Kevin to calm down before you decide his punishment. I'd get that leg checked if I were you," she told him.

He looked up before nodding and limping out the door. There were various mutters coming from the students as Mina pulled Jasper with her, looking for where Aaren had taken Caleb. They found them in Aaren and Kevin's room, tying the young Stern to a chair. They were surprised to see Draco and Kyo standing there as well.

"We came here as soon as we heard," said the teacher.

Mina and Jasper nodded before staring at the man standing in front of Kevin. He glanced up at them.

"Yo," was Kyo's greeting.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"So what's wrong with Kevin?" asked Mina.

"It seems that he's had some sort of violent spasm. It could possibly be that his body is reacting abnormally to the virus, responding with violence. It's much like a young boy on steroids where he responds by acting out violent. It's called 'roid rage'. I don't think Kevin's on steroids, though. He has not shown any change in size or strength," said the teacher.

"Yeah, right. The day that Kevin uses steroids is the day that I fall in love with Barney," Caleb spat out.

Aaren chuckled.

"He likes Bambi better than Barney," he declared.

This earned him a smack from the young Belpois.

"Hey! Not the face!" he shouted.

"What is it with you and your face?" asked Caleb.

"It's..._perfect_," he said in a dramatic tone.

Mina laughed and Caleb looked at her.

"Mina, your boyfriend is conceited," he stated.

"Yeah, I know."

"Back to the matter at hand," said Jasper. "This is a response to XANA's virus?"

Draco shrugged.

"It's the most sensible answer. However, I do not know what triggered it. Does anybody know what Jacob said or did to piss him off?" he asked them.

The kids all shrugged. Aaren's eyebrows shot up.

"Well, Jacob _did_ make him run twenty laps today for being five minutes late," he said.

"And Kevin's been acting strange. He's been very distant these past couple of weeks," Jasper added.

Draco thought for a while.

"Has anything happened recently that could have changed him, emotionally?" he asked.

The teens all looked at each other, unsure if they should speak about Jace's reappearance. In the end, Aaren made the decision for them.

"He's recently met someone that he fell in love with and she broke his heart in two. Literally, snapped it. He's been depressed since the incident. Could that count?" Aaren asked, staring at his best friend.

Kevin was currently panting and leaning forward against the binds. He was sweating and was paler than he usually was. Aaren felt like a bad friend only noticing the changes now. Instead of answering, Draco walked forward and released the bindings. Kevin slumped forward and fell to the ground. He simply laid there, doing nothing.

"The spasm should be over by now. Did Jacob do anything else that could've sent him into a frenzy or remind him of the incident?" asked the teacher.

The group thought for a while before Jasper raised his head.

"Jin _did_ mention something about Jacob pulling at his sleeve before he started pounding on him," he answered.

Draco reached for his hand but Kevin flinched away. Kyo moved forward and sat in front of his brother. He looked up at Draco.

"I'll do it," he told him.

The silver-haired man just nodded as Kyo pulled Kevin into his arms like a man would do a child. Aaren stared at him, wondering where the sudden tenderness came from. They all watched silently as Kyo pulled back the right sleeve of Kevin's green undershirt. Their eyes widened in awe when they saw the cut marks. There were _hundreds_ of them all over the inner part of his arm. Each were just little more than an inch long and were a glaring red. Kyo repeated the action with the left arm and saw that it was exactly the same as his right arm. Aaren sank to his knees.

"All this time...I-I never..." he trailed off.

Mina knelt beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. She stared up at the rest of her friends. Caleb and Jasper were both frozen in shock. She returned her gaze to Kevin. He looked absolutely spent. It was like he had just run around the world ten times without stopping. Kyo clutched him closer to his body and it took her a while before she realized that he was crying.

"Otouto...why, otouto?" he whispered into his brother's ear.

The boy didn't answer.

"What's wrong with him?" Caleb finally questioned.

Draco stared hard at Kevin before looking up at the blonde boy.

"Kevin can no longer attend Kadic Academy. He's being expelled either way," he answered softly.

All of them froze. It was like time had stopped. Aaren was the first to speak.

"W-what do you mean _expelled_? The worst that fighting can get you into in Kadic is in-school suspension! Who are you to decide what goes on in this school?" he shouted, outraged.

Draco stood up and stared at the young Della Robbia.

"Listen, Aaren. Kevin is not..._fit_ to stay in Kadic. The place is a constant reminder of his pain. From the look on his face, this is not the first time this had happened."

They all held an expression of confusion on their faces.

"What do you mean? This is the first time he's fought in school," said Caleb.

"You said that he's been disappearing."

Draco said it like a question. They all nodded. Kyo glared up at them, angrily. Unconsciously, they all flinched away from him. The anger emanating off of him was almost tangible.

"Where the hell do you think he's been disappearing off to? I've been following him the past few days. He goes off to the school's Gym and pulls out the punching bags and dummies! After that, he's been letting himself go. He does it as a routine to control the spasm! He's always asleep when you come back in the evening, right?" Kyo asked Aaren.

The teenage boy nodded.

"He's been very quiet lately, right?"

Nod.

"He's been distant?"

Another nod.

"HAVE ANY OF YOU PEOPLE NOTICED THAT HE CAN'T TALK?" he screeched.

Everyone was quiet. No. They had not noticed. They hadn't noticed that he was tired in class, that he never talked in class, that he'd been sluggish, slow and weak. Aaren stared down at the floor, mentally beating himself up. Stupid! He'd been so stupid! Depression? No. Kevin had been _way_ worse than that! He'd been slowly dying.

It was all his fault!

"S-sto..."

Everyone's eyes focused on the boy that Kyo was currently holding in his arms.

"S-stop...f-f-fight..." Kevin tried again.

He looked like it was taking everything just to speak. Kyo stared down at his brother.

"Are you asking us to stop fighting, Daisuke?" he asked softly.

The boy nodded. The older man sighed and got to his feet, lifting Kevin with him.

"If it is your wish, otouto, then I will grant it," he answered.

"Why are you so sentimental all of a sudden?" Aaren suddenly asked.

Kyo raised an eyebrow at him and everyone turned to listen. The young Della Robbia stared up at Kyo with a blank expression. The sudden serious was something that they hadn't seen in a while.

"A few weeks ago, he was nothing more than a tool to you. Someone you wanted to recruit. Why are you suddenly acting like he's the world to you?" Aaren asked, seething.

The man stared down at him before looking at the boy in his arms. Kevin had fallen asleep. He returned his gaze to Aaren.

"Because he called me 'brother'. I haven't heard him call me that since he was three. I always thought that becoming a Yakuza member would be best for him. I was so focused o-on bringing him closer that I didn't realize I was pushing him farther. I loved him and wanted him to always be by my side and he hated me for it. When he forgave me...it made everything go away. It made me see clearly. He's my brother and I love him. I won't lose him twice," he said.

There was a sharp intake of air from the doorway and the group's eyes focused on the two girls standing there. Emma looked like she was about to faint and Annie looked worried about the sudden whiteness of her best friend's face.

"Y-you...l-l-left...You left us...You're..."

Kyo raised his eyebrows when he suddenly realized who she was.

"Inoue..." he began.

"Fuck you and your INOUE! YOU LEFT US! YOU LEFT US! YOU LEFT US!" she shouted at him.

"You remember..."

"Of _course_, I remember. I may have been two but I knew who my brother was! Kristian Emmerich Ishiyama Stern! How could I forget?" she shouted.

"Lynn, I-"

Instead of answering, she turned and ran away. Kyo stared after her helplessly before turning and placing Kevin on the bed.

"I'll be back, Daisuke," he said before running after his little sister.

Annie backed away as he sped past her. She stared after him before looking at her friends.

"What the hell just happened?"

...

A/N: It's my birthday so I sincerely hope you guys review as my birthday present! REVIEW!


	59. The Stern Family

A/N: I can't believe I spent freaking SEVEN hours making a stupid BOOK for a PROJECT! Curse you, Mr. P! God, I'm tired but I'll update today either way! Just for the record, I only got three reviews in the last chapter and I'm guessing that was because you guys thought that I didn't update since the update days were so close together. So if you didn't already, check the last chapter out and review on that one!

In my defense I didn't even think the story would go this way – I did _not_ plan this out so I just winged it. I hope it's alright!

...

Chapter 58

Kyo ran after Emma. She may have been fast but she was petite and he had longer legs. It didn't take him very long to catch up to her. He grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop. She came to a halt but did not look at him. The older man did not see a need to question why. She was angry, he understood that. But he needed to give her an explanation. It was the only way he could keep his sanity. He had left them once. They needed to know why.

He opened his mouth to speak when he heard a shout.

"Hey! What are you doing to my sister?"

Kyo turned around to see a little boy with spiky black hair – about twelve – running up to them. He was short but kind of tall for someone his age. Kyo thought that the kid was probably sixth grade, a year younger than Emm. He was about to shout a simple 'Get lost!' when it registered in his brain that the boy had said 'sister'. It took him a while to process that. If he had called Emma 'sister' – not to mention the fact that he was probably no more than a year younger than the girl - that meant that the young boy running towards them had to be his youngest brother...Jin.

Emma turned to look at him.

"Get out of here, Squirt," she said, staring worriedly between the two of her brothers.

"Don't call me 'Squirt'."

"So _you're_ Jin?" Kyo questioned.

The boy nodded, confirming his doubts.

"Hm. Got the whole family tree here now, don't we?" he muttered, letting go of Emma.

The brunette moved away from him, moving to stand next to her younger brother. Kyo sighed.

"Looks like I've got some explaining to do," he muttered.

Emma glared at him.

"No. You don't need to explain anything. You just need to leave," she told him.

"Don't you even _want _to know why I left?" he asked.

Emma shook her head. Jin raised an eyebrow. Kyo nearly laughed when he thought about how much the action reminded him of himself. All Stern men were the same.

"Who are _you_?" asked the young boy.

Emma frowned and turned him around.

"He's no one. You don't need to know about him," she said as they started to leave.

"He has a right!" Kyo called after them.

Jin turned around, looking back at the man that his sister seemed to loathe.

"Right to what?" he asked, curiously.

"Nothing!" Emma argued.

"Why do you hate me so much? Because I left? Do you even _know_ why I left?" Kyo questioned his sister.

"Shut up! I don't want to know!" she shouted.

"KNOW WHAT?" asked Jin.

"That I'm your brother," he answered.

Jin's eyes widened. He was quiet for a few seconds.

"W-what? I only have _one_ brother. Kevin," he said.

Kyo smirked and saw Emma hanging her head in defeat. She could not stop him now that the truth had been let out. The eldest Stern child turned his head to the younger boy.

"Let me tell you what happened."

**Stern Residence (Two Days Later)**

Ulrich just got back from his dojo and walked through the door of his home. It was pretty cool this time of year so he had worn a coat. Now, within the warm recesses of his household, Ulrich was freed of his mittens and boots and stripped himself down to an olive-colored t-shirt and long gray pants. He saw Yumi standing in the kitchen, back from work, as well. She was wearing her usual black turtleneck and white shorts. He walked up to her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Hey, Yumes," he greeted her, walking out of the kitchen and into the living room.

His wife smiled at him.

"Hello to you, too, Ulrich. How was work?" she asked him.

Ulrich smiled as he took a seat on the couch.

"Good. One of my students nearly broke his leg, though when he attempted to do a kick another student and the kid blocked it with his elbow. He landed on his stomach with his leg in an odd position so I checked what was wrong. It was just a small sprain, though. He'll be able to come back in about a week or so," he told her in a nonchalant tone.

Yumi looked like she was about to respond when the telephone rang. She walked over to the hallway and picked the phone off of the receiver.

"Hello, Stern residence," she said.

Ulrich watched Yumi chatter away on the phone as he walked into the kitchen. Her tone of voice turned frightened then worried and he wondered what had happened. He picked an apple off of the counter and bit on it, waiting for her to get off of the phone. Instead of getting off, though, she turned and motioned for him to take the calling device. He walked over and took it from her, wondering what had her so freaked out.

He placed the speaker on his ear.

"Hello?" he asked.

Yumi watched his expression carefully. There was a small sigh on the other line.

"Hello, Ulrich," came a deep voice.

Ulrich froze. Even though it had been over twelve years, he still recognized the voice of his first-born son.

"Kristian?" he whispered, turning to stare at his wife.

Yumi nodded quietly. There was a small chuckle on the other end.

"Well, I go by the name of 'Kyo' now but I guess 'Kristian' will do for now," was the answer.

Ulrich felt a moment of dizziness. It was like he was going to faint but he sucked it up and took in a deep breath.

"Where have you been all these years?" he asked.

"Japan. Yakuza. I've checked up on Daisuke a few times, though. France _is_ pretty nice this time of year," he commented.

Ulrich's eyes widened. What the hell? He was so deep in so much crap and he had the _gall_ to comment on the _weather_?

"Y-Yakuza? Oh my Lord. Kristian, what have you gotten yourself int- You know what? I don't care. Why are you calling? Why now?" he questioned.

Ulrich needed to know why he was back. After all, he could've come back _years_ ago. What was the reason he was back. Here. Now. There was silence on the other end of the line, as if Kyo wasn't sure how he was going to respond.

Finally, it seemed that the eldest Stern gritted his teeth and found his voice.

"I'm calling because of Daisuke. He's staying with me, right now. I've pulled him out of Kadic for a while and I'm homeschooling him."

Something in Ulrich snapped and, before he knew it, he was screaming at his son.

"WHAT? WHAT THE HELL GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO-"

Kyo cut him off.

"Dad, he's sick! He won't be able to survive very long in Kadic. Unless he gets out of there, he'll die for sure. Already, he's caught pneumonia, the cold and the flu. I'm nursing him until he gets better," he said in a caring voice, something that Ulrich had not expected to hear.

It threw him off. He was speechless for a moment before his mind started working again and he regained control of his vocal skills.

"Kevin's sick? Why didn't you tell us? Where are you? I want to see him, right away!" Ulrich declared.

"Lyoko."

Ulrich balked. How the _hell_ did Kyo know that word? Yumi stared at her husband's shocked expression. What had caused him to be throw off like that?

"What?"

There was a sigh on the other end.

"It's because of Lyoko and XANA. Daisuke and some of his other friends have found out about Lyoko. He's reacting negatively to something XANA did to him and now he's in danger of dying. He's been getting more and more violent due to the 'virus' and we haven't realized until now that it's slowly been killing him," he confessed.

Ulrich was silent for half a minute, just processing everything.

"That would explain a lot," he admitted.

"Dad, please don't interfere. We can handle this on our own." said Kyo.

"But-"

"_Please_!" he begged, showing heavy emotion, for once.

Ulrich shut up, He didn't want to leave his child to face XANA! He knew how bad XANA was and the thing had probably gotten worse with age. The Stern patriarch didn't know how to feel except the need to protect his children from this entity. However, he also wanted to be able to trust his children with something like this.

"I can't promise anything. These are my children, Kristian. I have to take care of them...but if it's what's best for them...I _will_ let them be but..." he trailed off, not sure how to word it.

"I understand. He's my brother, Dad. I'll take care of him. There probably _will_ be a time when we'll need your help but not now. Please respect that," Kyo requested.

Ulrich sighed again.

"Alright. But the moment anything happens where I am capable of preventing any harm towards my children, I am pulling them _out_. I know how dangerous Lyoko can be. Please, Kristian. Keep them safe," he said.

"I will," he said, hanging up.

…

Kyo watched as Kevin writhed on the bed. He had taken him to an apartment that he had rented. It was not very far from the factory or Kadic. Kevin had insisted (with a shriveled voice) that he still wanted to participate in activities involving XANA and Lyoko. The dark-haired boy clung tightly to one of the three, fading green pillows. The other two were rested under his head and one under his feet. He was in the middle of fighting another one of his spasms. They were always about ten minutes long and always left him sweating with eyes bloodshot from the pain and muscles aching from the strain on his body.

Kyo flinched when he heard his brother whimper lowly. He saw how badly the boy was suffering and, in turn, he was pained, as well. The Kobayashi clansman leaned forward and brushed back Kevin's hair.

"I don't know how you find the strength to fight him," he whispered.

Kevin whimpered again and Kyo moved forward and sat on the bed, next to his little brother.

"Oh, otouto," he sighed.

It was silent in the room for quite a while. After what seemed like forever, Kevin opened his eyes and stared up at his elder brother.

"Th-thank...y-y-y-" he struggled.

Kyo held a hand up, silencing the dark-haired teen. Kevin gave him a look of both confusion and exhaustion. The elder brother looked around the room, trying to figure out a way to speak out his feelings. As a Yakuza member, he was trained to suppress his emotions. Never to let his emotions interfere with his duties. However, having someone to care for, whether it be a son or a brother, changed everything. All of a sudden, he wanted freedom. All of a sudden he wanted to just be able to live life.

The 15-year-old lying down in front of him showed him that.

"Daisuke...you don't need to thank me for anything. I'm doing this as a form of payment. I've abandoned you and your siblings...I've betrayed your trust. The only times I was around was just to force you into something you didn't want to be in. I was never a good brother. Now, I want to make up for all of that. I hope that one day...you and everyone else I've hurt would be able to forgive me," he said softly.

Kevin stared up at his brother for a long time before forming a small ghost of a smile on his face. He opened his mouth to speak and Kyo tried to stop him but the boy waved him off. Kyo raised an eyebrow, wondering what was so important to him. The black-haired teenager opened his mouth and uttered one single word that shook Kyo's world. A single word that made him feel like he was completely exalted from any punishment God would have brought down on him should his time come. One word that made him love his brother more than anything and gave him the strength to endure the battles that were sure to come his way.

One word.

"F-forgiven."

...

A/N: Finish with this chapter!

Would you guys PLEASE give me two reviews for this chapter and the last? I only got three reviews on the last chapter and it was my birthday! *crosses arms like a little kid and walks away, sniffling*

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Random person: effin emo says 'review to make up for her birthday'!


	60. The Real Story

A/N: Hi, guys! I was going through the chapters and noticed something odd with the birthdays of my characters: Aaren and Jace...SO I MADE A CHAPTER OUT OF IT! Enjoy!

...

Chapter 59

A young girl of fifteen years was laying down on her bed, her now-long black and purple hair was spread out around her like a fan. She wore nothing but a purple tank top and black shorts, her eyes were staring straight up at the boring, white ceiling. In the other room, she could briefly hear her two comrades talking. Recently, Katerina had starting communicating more and more with Angelo. Jace thought that it had something to do with the fact that they were both Italian. She would hear them speaking in their native language, as if they were shutting her out. She, herself, was of Italian descent but she wasn't completely fluent in the language.

The teenage girl glanced down at her bare arms. There were cut marks all over them. It was because of Kevin, she knew. In reality, Jace didn't really blame him for acting this way but to say she was surprised would be and understatement. Kevin had always been the smart, strong one. The one that never gave up when the situation was hopeless. The one that stuck through to the end.

_I guess, everyone has a breaking point_, she thought to herself.

Because of Katerina's 'painkiller', Jace could barely feel the pain but the marks still bothered her. They were a constant reminder of what she had done and who she had hurt in the process. There was a bout of laughter from the other side of the door followed by the sound of something hissing. They were probably working on another chemical experiment. Another pang of pain hit her heart.

She was always left out..._always_. In their group, Jace had always been a sort of odd-one-out. Kevin was best friends with Aaren so they were always together. Emma and Annie were best friends and were practically sisters! Though she had always felt a sort of kinship towards her, Jace knew that Mina was forever attached to Caleb like a sister attached to her brother. That left Jasper but the redhead was too new to the group to really find someone to latch on to. Looking back on it, Jace had always been alone. Part of the the group but never really influencing or changing it. Now, it seems that that was what was happening here. Angelo and Katerina were probably a lot closer than Jace would be with either of them.

The thought alone made her want to cry.

She turned her head and looked up at one of the screens in front of her. There were about thirty surveillance cameras around Kadic and she had been able to hack into ever one of them. The one her eyes had focused on was the one depicting the only man she would ever love...Kevin. She did not deserve him, she knew that. But either way, she loved him. It pained her even more than he physical wounds to see him lying there, writhing and whimpering in agony. He was reacting negatively to the virus, that much she had figured out. XANA told her that her genetics had caused her to have less of a serious reaction to the virus so she was not being affected by it. The pain that Kevin was feeling was not actually _physical_.

It was mental. He was imagining the pain because the virus had latched on to the part of his brain that conjured up the feelings of emotional behavior and had super charged it until he felt like he wanted to kill someone. The only way that he was able to take out that charge was by exhausting himself until he was too tired to walk. Apparently, the virus had also given him a harder time speaking. Because the pain was nothing but a mirage created by his brain – XANA had explained to her – Jace did not feel the pain Kevin was feeling because her brain did not function the same way that Kevin's did.

"Sometimes I wish it did," she muttered. "I deserve the pain...not him."

There was the sound of footsteps walking towards her room, followed by a knock on her door.

"Come in!" she answered.

The knob turned and the door was pushed open. A head of light – almost neon-green hair poked itself into the room. Jace's dark eyes darted to the boy's blank face.

"Yes, Angelo?" she asked.

He blinked once – almost as if he was unsure about something – before walking in. He stared around her minuscule room, tapping his foot lightly. Jace recognized the habit to be something he did whenever he was confused about something but was too shy to ask about it. She raised and eyebrow to him.

"Is there something you wanted to ask me?" she questioned.

Angelo's gaze finally settled on her face and that's when the female realized that he was holding a pale yellow-ish manila folder. She smirked before sitting up.

"So you found my file?"

The boy looked surprised that she had recognized the object. He nodded.

"Uh, yeah. I decided to read up on you since I don't know very much about you-"

"I'm guessing that you were going through the Lyoko Warriors' files and found me?" she interrupted him.

He blushed very lightly, embarrassed that she had him figured out so quickly. Jace found that it was hard to see the pink hue on his cheeks because of his tanned skin.

_He must have spent a hell of a lot of time in the sun_, she thought vaguely.

"Y-yes. I went through them and I was examining your brother, Aaren's file right after I looked at yours and I found something...odd," he told her, his dark eyes staring at the floor.

Jace blinked once before waving for him to continue.

"What did you find?" she asked him.

The green-haired boy grabbed a chair from Jace's only desk and sat down. He stared at her for a while before finally speaking.

"Your...birth dates. They are strangely close together," he said.

Jace froze. Crap. Someone had _finally_ found out.

"Strange? How?" she asked, keeping her cool.

Angelo took in a deep breath.

"Well, he is born on August 31st and you are born on January 1st," he said.

"So?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Angelo leaned back in his chair.

"Were you born prematurely?" he asked.

Jace shook her head. The boy found that incredibly surprising and it showed on his face.

"That's what I find strange. The two of you are 122 days apart which is roughly four months," he said.

"And?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly.

"Children born at about four months old don't survive very long and are often very small. There is no record of you being in the hospital for longer than what most doctors would call normal and I was wondering how that was even possible," he told her.

Jace was silent for a few moments and when Angelo looked up he found that she was staring blankly at the screens in front of her. He took in her posture. Fists clenched. Muscles tensed. A major frown on her face. The young male felt that he shouldn't press the issue but curiosity was getting the best of him. Besides, he had a _right_ to know who he was working with...right?

"Jasmine..." he trailed off.

"Don't call me that!" she snapped, turning her head and glaring daggers at him.

Angelo's first reaction was to flinched and retract to a corner – as he had done many times as a slave – but he held his ground, staring back at her with equal force.

"I want an explanation," he told her in a firm voice.

The girl before her looked angry. Apparently, this was a sore subject. What exactly was she hiding?

"Jasmi- _Jace_. Please explain this to me," he requested.

He watched her brow furrow and her jaw tighten. She looked like she was solving a hard math equation. Deciding which was the right way to go. Finally, she seemed to give in.

"I'm going to die anyways, right? Might as well get everything off of my chest," she told him, bringing up her knees to her chest.

Angelo really couldn't help but notice her slender legs. He was a _guy_, after all. However, he focused his eyes on Jace's face – it was sad but determined. She took in a deep breath and began to speak.

"I was...a rebound child..." she confessed.

The green-haired boy raised an eyebrow.

"A what?" he asked.

She sighed and turned to look at him.

"A rebound child. Fifteen years ago on Thanksgiving, my father – Odd Della Robbia – got into a big fight with his girlfriend – Sissi Delmas – and they broke up. He...didn't know that she was pregnant. He went out with a girl named Samantha Knight, nicknamed 'Sam'. When he found out Sissi was pregnant, he decided to break it off with Sam. She understood him and let him leave. What he didn't realize was that...Sam was pregnant, too," she said quietly.

Angelo watched Jace's face change. She looked both angry and depressed at the same time. At that moment, he figured out what Jace meant by 'rebound child' but he wanted her to continue. She was probably dying on the inside just by telling him this but he needed to know more. Jace let out a huge gust of breath and kept talking.

"Odd didn't know what to do. Right after his first child – Aaren – was born, he and Sissi were married. They stayed together for about seven months before Odd got a call saying that...I was born. Of course, he wanted to take a paternity test and the test came out positive. At the time, Sam had nothing. She was with another man and that man did not want a child that was not his living under his roof," she said.

The green-haired boy moved forward and sat next to Jace. She looked close to tears.

"Dad took me in. He decided that he had to. Otherwise, Sam would have had to give me up. It was a miracle that I looked nothing like my mother except for my hair color...and it was mixed with my father's hair at that. Sissi had no choice but to accept me into the family. Odd pretended that I got my hair color from her and that it was a cute mix. After that, Sissi had another girl, Lizzy," she smirked at the name. "I guess that she felt it was the only way to keep Odd closer to her. I think that she felt that if she didn't have something for him to cling onto with her, he'd leave her for Sam and take everything with him. I don't see the point, he's madly in love with her but I probably crushed her self-esteem. I'm a constant reminder of what happened and what _could_ happen if he left her again."

After that, she was quiet. Angelo stared at her face. Her mouth was in a tight line and she was blinking away tears. He didn't know how to handle the situation but did what his instincts told him to do. He reached out and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. At first, she looked uncomfortable, like she was afraid he'd hit her or something. After a few seconds, though, she accepted him and moved toward him, seeking the warmth he had offered her. It wasn't long before she was curled into his side, arms wrapped around his waist and crying into his chest.

And he let her do those things. He responded by holding her while she cried. She had a hard time growing up. With two mothers that didn't want her and a past full of secrets, he could understand why she was so sad, why she hadn't wanted to broach the subject. He shushed her until she fell asleep and he laid her on the bed, covering her with a blanket. He noticed that she looked incredibly vulnerable, curled up with puffy eyes. Unconsciously, he ran a hand through her hair before stopping himself.

She loved someone else but he could not hide the fact that he was attracted to her. She was stubborn, sensitive and loud with a temper but she was also kind and understanding. She was someone who had let him in even though he was probably an enemy in her eyes.

"Sweet dreams, Jace," he whispered in her ear.

He took one last glance at her before walking out the door, down the hallway and into his own room.

* * *

A/N: How'd I do?

**ANNOUNCEMENT:** Because I might not be able to go online after March (my Internet is getting disconnected *sob*), I'll be updating more frequently. Probably every other day for as long as I can so keep checking up on me. ^_^

P.S: I have only about 9-10 chapters to go before this story ends so make sure to keep checking my chapters out!

REVIEW!


	61. Canine Onslaught

A/N: Told you I'd be updating early, didn't I? Oh well, decided to do a sort of action chapter to put a little 'oomph' into the story since it'll be over soon. Enjoy!

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Chapter 60

A couple weeks into March and the Lyoko Warriors – excluding Kevin – were all taking mid-terms. Aaren and Jasper were taking the Civics mid-term, Annie and Emma were in P.E. and Mina and Caleb were taking English mid-terms. No one noticed that lithe figures of many sizes were prowling the forests near Kadic. The bell rang for first period to end and all the students got to their feet, turned in their papers and walked out the door. The six kids met together in the hallway. Aaren put his Civics journal in his locker before taking out his Geometry notebook.

"I swear, I hate tests!" he complained.

"Yes, we know that, Aaren. _Everyone_ hates tests," Emma retorted.

"Well, _you_ were in P.E. for all of first period! You didn't have to write essays!" he answered her back.

"I've got Algebra next so shut your trap," she told him, getting pissed off.

The entire group rolled their eyes at the bickering pair. Jasper looked around the school.

"XANA's been quiet for a while," he commented, placing a book in his bag.

Caleb shrugged.

"I'm betting that he'll attack soon," said the young Belpois.

As if on cue, there was a high-pitched scream followed by loud barking and kids running into the classrooms. The six of them looked at each other worriedly. Pete was running past them, panting and his pupils dilated.

"Pete! What happened?" Mina asked him.

He paused to stare at them.

"There are _dogs_ running around, attacking people! _Scores _of them! There are probably eighty of them running a muck! Get into the classrooms or you're in for a bunch of biting and scratching," he told them before running forward and disappearing into the storage room.

The group all stared at each other.  
"To Lyoko?" asked Aaren.

"Go!" shouted Caleb.

They all started to head for the nearest path to Lyoko which was a secret passage in the school's basement (A/N: At least, I _think_ that's where it's located). Aaren pulled the door open – it was creaky from old age – and motioned for them to get in. They were stepping right over the threshold when they heard a chorus of growls behind them. They turned and saw a German Shepard and two Rottweilers standing at the basements entrance, teeth bared and the Eye of XANA replacing their pupils. Annie froze. She was terrified of dogs!

The room was silent for a long moment.

"Get going!" shouted Aaren.

Annie nearly screamed when the dogs charged. Aaren grabbed a broom and used it to hit one of the dogs on its head, causing it to fly away. Mina followed suit and grabbed a bat, whacking the German Shepard on the mouth. She turned back to look at them.  
"Go! We'll hold them off for as long as we can. Get to the factory," she told them.

Caleb nodded before closing the door and leading Emma, Caleb, Annie and Jasper down the tunnel. Finally, they got to the sewer and grabbed their skateboards and scooters. After about five minutes, they got to the factory and Annie sent the three of them to the scanner room. They headed down using the elevator and each got into a scanner.

"The activated tower is in th Polar Region," she told them as the scanner doors closed.

Once ready, Annie started the virtualization process.

"Transfer Emma. Transfer Caleb. Transfer Jasper."

Wind was blown through the scanners as Annie clicked away at the keyboard.

"Scanner Emma. Scanner Caleb. Scanner Jasper."

The three teens floated upwards as the halo moved up and down the giant cylinder, scanning them.

"Virtualization."

They all closed their eyes as they a huge beam of light surrounded them. After a few moments, they were all materialized onto Lyoko. They all landed on their feet.

"Where's the activated tower?" asked Caleb.

"Twenty degrees North. You should be there in a few minutes," she said.

"Got it."  
The group ran forward at a fast pace, desperate to get to the tower quickly. Caleb stared ahead and could barely make out small shapes near the tower.

"How many monsters?" he asked Annie.

The pinkette stared at the screen, counting the red blips.

"Four. A Megatank and three Bloks," she told them.

Caleb nodded.

"Alright. Time to kick some ass," he said.

They continued to move forward. When they were close enough, Emma paused and pulled out her fan. She opened it and launched it at the Bloks. It managed to cut through one of them. The fan flew back to her and she caught, running forward to catch up with Caleb and Jasper. One of the Bloks took aim and fired at the blonde, hitting him on his leg.

"I got the next one," Caleb growled.

He lifted a heavy red glove and took aim. A bright white laser shot out of his palm and hit another one of the Bloks.

"Yes!" he cheered.

Jasper ran forward a little quickly before jumping a little higher than usual.

"Mutation!" he shouted, morphing himself into a Manta.

It was red with an upside-down version of XANA's Eye on it's head. The Megatank took aim at him and blasted it's laser. Moving quickly, the Jasper-Manta dodged left. It took a shot at the remaining Blok and the monster was instantly de-virtualized.

Caleb laughed.

"Whoo! Only one left!" he cheered.

"Sorry to burst your bubble," came a voice from above.

They all looked at the force of the voice and saw Jace – wings unfolded – floating gracefully in the air next to a new member of XANA's followers. Angelo was floating in the air beside her. He, too, had wings but his were olive-green, not black, and were about the same size and Jace's. He wore a loose green Japanese robe, black gauntlets with a sword tucked in a sheath around his waist. He had ninja shoes wrapped around his feet.

He smirked at their amazed expressions.

"But you forgot that monsters aren't the only things you should be worried about," he continued.

Jace rolled her eyes at the way he had let them take in his appearance before speaking just to increase the dramatic effect but kept her eyes on Emma, Caleb and Jasper who was floating around as a Manta. She watched as Emma stared at them with a perplexed expression on her face before letting herself float upwards. She levitated until they were about the same altitude – floating right next to Jasper - her mouth in a straight line. Caleb stared up at her in wonder before he realized that the Megatank had taken advantage of their momentary distraction and just barely dodged a giant laser from the monster. He, in turn, launched an attack at it's Eye and the entity was instantly de-virtualized.

Now, they had all their attention focused on Jace and Angelo.

…

Aaren panted heavily. They had defeated the last dog. The three canines were lying on the floor, beaten and battered. Aaren and Mina weren't much better. Mina had been bitten on her leg and was lying up against the wall while Aaren had scratch marks on his arm and a scratch on his cheek. The blonde boy looked his girlfriend over. She had bound the area above her bite with a tourniquet to keep it from bleeding continuously. Other than a few light scratches here and there, she wasn't very much wounded and for that he was thankful. Sighing from fatigue, Aaren sat down next to Mina, too tired and wounded to move anywhere else. She turned to him and lifted her hand, gently stroking the skin near his wounded.

"You okay?" she asked.

He chuckled at her.

"They got my face!" he cried in a fake-dramatic voice.

She laughed at him before kissing the spot next to his wound. He smiled at her as she pulled back.

"Better?" she questioned.

"Yeah."

…

Caleb dodged left, dodged right, dodged backwards. Back flip. Tuck and roll. Duck.

It was hard to avoid Jace's many arrows since she had a continuous line of them, one coming after another. Not to mention that the Angelo boy was quick on his feet and had taken advantage of their current situation. Neither Emma nor Caleb were good at close combat and the latter was having a hard-as-hell time avoiding getting cut up into little pieces by the boy's sword. Angelo had unsheathed it in mid-flight and had tried to hit the young Belpois multiple times. Caleb stared at the weapon in wonder. The thing was freaking five feet long! Caleb wasn't sure how swords were measured and compared but he was pretty sure that five feet was longer than the average sword.

Angelo swooped down and was about to hit him when Caleb decided to go for broke and backed away a little to get some distance. The green-haired boy turned back around and charged forward, once more. Caleb winced, realizing he only had nine shots right now.

An arrow came out of no where and hit him on the shoulder. He grunted as he felt his life points drain by forty. Scratch that. Five shots. Caleb's eyes zeroed in on the approaching figure and sucked in a deep breath, focusing on his attack.

"Sonic Blast!"

A huge sonic wave came out of his mouth and headed straight towards Angelo. The boy was so surprised that he didn't have time to dodge the attack and got hit by the blast. He was instantly de-virtualized. Caleb grinned at his triumph but his euphoria was short-lived as another arrow him him on the back and he was de-virtualized.

The loud hiss of the scanner doors opening was followed by the sound of panting and knees hitting pavement as Caleb fell forward, supporting himself on his hands.

"Crap," he muttered.

Emma swore when she realized that it was just her and Jasper. Finally, she realized that she had no other option. She would have to use her special attack if Jasper was even going to get a _chance_ at reaching the tower.

"Jazz! Get out of the way!" she shouted at the Manta.

The monster made a nodding motion and floated backwards until it was several yards behind her. Jace seemed to figure out what she was planning and headed straight towards her. Her eyes turned into the darkest black. The black flowed out of her eyes and down her body like an infection. Soon, she was nothing but a black shadow heading towards her at an unbelievable speed.

"Last Shadow!" came Jace's voice from within the shadow.

"Looks like Jace got an upgrade, too," Emma muttered to herself.

Focusing, Emma lifted her fan and – sealing her fate – she threw all her might into the swing of her fan. A huge gust of wind that seemed like invisible blades cutting through the air came out of her weapon and headed straight at the approaching shadow.

"Celestial Hurricane!" she shouted.

The two attacks met in the middle. Jace's shadow versus Emma's hurricane. Both females battled to keep their attack intact and overpower the other. Jasper watched – now human – as the two forces tried to dominate one another and ducked behind the nearest boulder when they started to morph into each other.

Neither girl could take the strain and both attacks burst in a giant, white explosion that nearly blinded Jasper even though his eyes were closed. He covered his head as gusts of wind blew his hair in every direction. After a few seconds, the explosion was over and Jasper dared to look. His eyes widened in amazement.

Half of the Polar Region had been blown away. There was just a huge gap between him and the tower.

"Wow," he mumbled. "Mutation!"

The redhead morphed into a Manta and flew towards the tower. When he was right in front of it, he ran inside and stopped at the center of the platform. Instantaneously, he was lifted up on to the second platform and the screen popped up in front of him. He placed his hand on it.

JASPER

CODE?

L-Y-O-K-O

Annie sighed in relief and pressed a few keys before pressing ENTER.

"Return to the Past now."

* * *

A/N: I like Jasper's power. ^_^ Anyways, this has been up on my profile but I decided to put it out there so all of you can know.

Here are the pics of couple of my other characters. They seem a little crappy to me but I might as well put them up since it's almost the end!

**Aaren Della Robbia:**

i1189(dot)photobucket(dot)com/albums/z430/effinemo13/AarenDelmasDellaRobbia(dot)png

**Anita 'Annie' Belpois**

i1189(dot)photobucket(dot)com/albums/z430/effinemo13/SGR/AnitaBelpois(dot)png

Good? ^_^ REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!


	62. The Return of Kevin Stern

A/N: Well, here's a lighter chapter. You're going to see quite a few time skips since I'll just be getting closer to the end and I see no need to really put some pointless stuff in but I'll be doing a few in-between chapters like this where not much seriousness goes on. Enjoy!

...

Chapter 61

**Time Skip – Easter Sunday (Let's say about third Sunday of April)**

"Yay! Easter Sunday! You know what that means?" Aaren asked Jasper.

The redhead stared back at the blonde with a blank expression. They were all staying over at a huge hotel suite that Aaren's father had agreed to rent out for them for two days while they were on Break. There were four rooms in the big suite. Emma and Annie shared a room. Jasper and Caleb shared a room and Aaren and Mina each had their own rooms. Right now, though, they were all sitting down on the hotel's pristine white couches. There were three in the living room. The girls were all sitting together on one couch, Jasper and Aaren were sitting next to each other and Caleb was lying on the last couch, half-asleep.

The rest of the group just laughed at Aaren's excitement. Jasper shrugged at his friend.

"Uh. It's the day Christ rose back up from the dead?" he answered.

Aaren scoffed.

"I guess that's what everyone _else_ is celebrating but no! It means eggs!" the young teenager rejoiced.

The Lyoko Warriors rolled their eyes while Jasper gave him a confused look.

"I understand that looking for eggs is a traditional practice but aren't you a little old for you to be getting overly excited about something so old?" he asked.

Aaren looked like he was going to blow a gasket at Jasper's words when there was a knock on the door. Aaren got up to answer it.

"We're not done, yet," he told Jasper in a threatening voice.

The red-haired boy just rolled his eyes and ignored his friend, walking into the suite kitchen and searching through the fridge. It seemed that he had recently adapted his eating habits from the blonde and was always eating. He never gained any weight, though. Aaren walked to the door and swung it open.

The group heard the sound of Aaren shouting in happiness followed by the sound of someone falling to the ground. There were a few grunts followed by a familiar "Aaren, you idiot!". Emma let out a loud squeal and ran to the door screaming "Kevin!". Everyone rushed to the entrance of the suite and practically swallowed the dark-haired Stern with hugs and friendly kisses on the cheek. Even Jasper was there in a few moments and was hugging Kevin tightly. After several minutes, the teenage boy was finally released from his friends tight embraces and was led to the couch where he was plopped down in between Emma and Aaren.

"Kevin, you're back!" Emma cheered, hugging her brother.

The boy chuckled at his sister's behavior.

"Yes, I'm back, little sister. You can stop trying to choke me to death," he said in a sarcastic tone.

"Oh, so you can speak now?" Aaren asked him, looking at him questioningly.

"Well, yeah. It seems that month of doing nothing but house work really paid off," came a voice from the doorway.

Seven pairs of eyes all looked up to see Kyo Kobayashi walking over the threshold with two big-sized luggages in his hands. He walked forward a few steps and dumped them right in the middle of the living room. With a sigh, he smiled down at them.

"Well, I burden my brother to you for now! I'm leaving to Japan in about a few hours and I've got to get to the airport! See you in about a month or so!" he said cheerfully.

And with that, he left. The group of teens stared at the door with expressions that just screamed 'wtf?'. Kevin let out a low chuckle and everyone turned to face him. Aaren was the first to speak, of course.

"So what have you been up to?" he asked.

The young Stern smirked.

"Well, Kyo invented a pill that helps me control XANA's virus so that I don't get all crazy again. I'm not going to be able to go back to school until next school year, though. Draco still has to monitor me in case something goes wrong but I'll be they say that I'll be alright," he told them.

Emma smiled before puckering her lips in confusion.

"Wait, then. Who are you going to stay with?" she asked him.

Kevin turned to look at her.

"Kyo and I talked with mom and dad about it," he said slowly.

Emma's eyes widened.

"So they know about-"

Kevin nodded. The rest of the group all gave Kevin wide-eyed expressions as if they were questioning his sanity. The young boy sighed.  
"They know about everything. Lyoko and Kyo but we've convinced them to let us handle it ourselves," he told them.

"So you told them about the end-of-the-world thing?" Aaren asked in a disbelieving tone.

Kevin's eyes widened.

"Hell, no! If we did they'd _never_ let us out of their sight! Anyways, I probably won't really be able to travel to Lyoko and back but I can operate the super computer if you guys ever need that kind of help," he said in an unsure voice, as if he was questioning whether or not he was still part of the group.

Caleb and Annie nodded, glancing at each other.

"Yeah, that's actually a good idea. You won't get so much stress and you won't really have to fight monsters and cause a greater strain on yourself," said Annie, patting his shoulder.

"Plus, Annie and I will be able to fight more often on Lyoko," Caleb added.

Aaren punched his arm lightly.

"That _sucks_, man! You're going to have to miss out on all the fun, ya' party pooper!" he complained.

The Della Robbia then received a whack on his head from said 'party pooper'. Aaren groaned in pain, rubbing his head roughly.

"Damn! Not even here for ten minutes and you're _already_ physically damaging my body!" he grumbled.

Kevin shook his head at Aaren's words but laughed either way. The young boy turned to Jasper.

"How has the anti-virus program been going?" he asked.

Jasper looked up with a smile.

"It's been going good, actually. At this rate, we might be able to get it done just a few days before XANA launches his attack – which we've determined to be June 4," he said.

"And the program will just take a few minutes to start up. It scans everyone on Lyoko, finds those with an infection and instantly starts to remove the virus. It might take a little over ten minutes to fully remove the virus but it'll be ready either way!" added Annie, sitting on the edge of her seat on the white couch.

The dark-haired boy stared at his friend in shock. He was speechless for a full ten seconds. Finally, it seemed that he regained his vocal skills and opened his mouth.

"So if Jace is on Lyoko..." Kevin trailed off.

The pinkette nodded excitedly, nearly falling off of the couch.

"Yeah, we can just remove the virus from her and she'll be free of it and we can shut down the super computer!" she said in a happy voice.

The dark-haired boy smiled at her in relief.

"Annie, you're a saint!" he told her, hugging her.

This resulted in the pink-haired female actually falling off of the couch, she landed on her butt but was still giggling. She had never seen Kevin so happy!

"Hey, what about me?" Jasper joked, helping the both of them to their feet.

Kevin laughed at him before fist-bumping him.

"Heh. You, too, Jazz," he said.

Aaren got to his feet and clapped his hands.

"This kind of news calls for a celebration! Now that Kevin's back...It's time to play my favorite game on Easter! Aaren's Special Easter Egg Hunt!" he announced.

They all groaned. Jasper looked at all of them with a confused expression, not fully understanding the situation.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Mina turned sharply on him.

"Do you even _know_ what Aaren's talking about?" she asked.

"Not a clue," he replied in a matter-of-factly tone.

Caleb rolled his eyes.

"Aaren's stupid game is basically we all have to look for the eggs Aaren hides," he said, motioning towards his friend who was practically bouncing in he seat.

Jasper raised an eyebrow, still not getting it.

"Isn't that what most people do when they do an Easter egg hunt?" he asked, still not getting the point of the game.

"Yeah, but Aaren is worse. He hides them in the hardest places and if you don't find an egg every five minutes, he hits you with a water balloon," Kevin explained.

Jasper's confused expression morphed into one of understanding.

"I concur," he answered, raising a hand.

Aaren frowned at his friends.

"Well, we can't exactly use water balloons since we're in a hotel room and my dad will _kill_ me if we totally trash the place and he has to pay to replace the furniture!" he complained, crossing his arms across his chest like a child would when they couldn't get candy at a store.

"Thank you, Odd!" said Emma, looking heavenward.

Aaren smirked.

"So I've come up with an alternative! If you guys don't find an egg every five minutes then I get to rub you with my special socks!" he announced.

All of them stared at the blonde in horror. Aaren's 'special' socks were the most foul smelling socks on the planet! What the hell was he still doing with them?

"You still kept those things from last year?" asked Caleb incredulously.

The young Della Robbia nodded with a cheeky grin.

"Yup!" he told him in an abnormally cheery voice.

Kevin collapsed dramatically on the couch.

"God, have mercy on our souls!"

(3 Hours Later...)

"I've found the last one! Number 164!" Emma shouted triumphantly, raising a bright pink-and orange egg in the air.

Everyone in the room sighed in relief – except for Aaren who was pretty upset that his game was over. He had hid 164 eggs in the suite (don't even _ask_ how he did that!) and it had taken them nearly two hours to find all of the eggs. He had also managed to rub both Jasper and Caleb with his foul-smelling clothing articles. Kevin had found thirty-one eggs in the first three minutes and Aaren had disqualified him because the game would have been done in less than ten minutes if he had continued. Of course, Kevin had cheated and kept yelling out places where he was spotting eggs to the rest of his friends. In the end, Aaren had duct-taped his mouth, arms and legs and blindfolded him to keep him from running around or finding the rest of the eggs.

"Mmmpph! Mmmmpphmmmmm! NNNNNGHGHGGGGHHH!" Kevin shouted from his tied-up position on the floor.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about you," Aaren muttered to himself, walking over to his best friend.

He cut away at the duct tape on Kevin's arms and legs and pulled off the blindfold. Kevin stared at his friend as Aaren smirked before pulling the duct tape off of Kevin's mouth sharply. The boy's eyes shut in pain and his hand flew up to press themselves against his pink-turning-red mouth.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! What the hell, Aaren?" Kevin screeched at him.

The blonde boy winced at his friend's unusually high voice but kept laughing nonetheless.

"It was *snort* too good an *snicker* opportunity to pass," he laughed out.

The young Stern's hand came flying at the Della Robbia's face and collided with its target.

"Ow! Goddammit! What the hell, Kev?" Aaren screamed.

Kevin smirked.  
"It was too good an opportunity to pass," he retorted with a snicker.

Aaren glared at his best friend before he was pushed out of the way by Caleb. The young boy stared as his friend walked by.

"Hey, where are you going?" he questioned.

Caleb glowered at him.

"I'm going to take a shower because there are just somethings that cologne and deodorant can't cover up," he answered, going into his room.

Aaren let out a grumpy 'humph'.

"They weren't _that_ bad-smelling...were they?" he asked Kevin.

The dark-haired boy looked up at him.

"I have _never_ smelled something so horrible in my _life_."

…

A/N: So...how did you like it? I am SO glad I'm not in this story. There's no _way_ I'd want to smell something that bad! Haha!

I've got about eight more chapters to go!

PERSEVERANCE!

…

…

…

I smell fried chicken. *wanders off*

REVIEW! ^_^


	63. Two Is Better Than One

A/N: I know I was supposed to update earlier but I couldn't. Why two words: Tsunami Warning. So yeah, packed up, left and didn't come back until the coast was clear (metaphorically) and we were safe to go back home. So anyways...enjoy!

...

Chapter 62

Emma, Annie and Mina were standing next each other in the hallways of Kadic, conversing with each other. Mid-terms were over but finals were coming up. The brunette placed her Algebra textbook in her locker and slammed it shut.

"Studying is officially the worst thing on the planet!" she announced with a big frown on her face.

Mina smirked.

"No shit, Sherlock. Everyone hates it," she told her friend.

Emma shook her head, disagreeing with the statement.

"No way! I hate it more than I hate rats! I hate it more than _XANA_!" she said.

The pinkette pulled her Gym clothes out of her locker and opened her bag, placing the object inside of it. She shook her head at her friend's amusing behavior.

"Emma. You always ace the tests no matter what happens so what has you so worried now?" she asked her best friend.

The brown-haired girl placed her hands on her hips.

"Do I _look_ like I want to spend every single day this week studying for a few tests that will just be over in a matter of hours?" she asked in a sarcastic tone.

Annie laughed at her friend and closed her locker, ignoring her friend's obsessive attitude.

Emma frowned. She absolutely _hated_ exams! Sure, she didn't exactly have a hard time getting good grades but these things tested them on _everything_ they had learned that year! She didn't want to get all cocky then fail! It would be totally embarrassing! A disgrace!

Mina laughed.

"Em, you look like you're going to combust any second if you don't calm down," she said.

The brunette's dark eyes shot daggers at her. Mina laughed again.

"It's not funny!" she complained.

"Stop worrying! If anything, the only thing you have to worry about the exam is making sure you've got two sharpened pencils inside of your bag at all times," said Mina, turning away from the group. "I've got to get to class. See you guys later!"

Emma and Annie waved her goodbye and started off to P.E. The pink-haired female patted Emma on the back.

"Don't worry, Em. You'll be fine! Besides, you can always take a make-up if you're not satisfied with the grade you get on your exam, alright?" she asked.

Emma sighed.

"Alright."

…

"Okay, everyone! I'll be placing every one of you into groups of two. One boy, one girl since I want all of you to branch out and get to know the people in your class – like you should have been doing the whole year," Pete added.

Emma rolled her eyes at the man but waited patiently as the pairs were called out.

"Anita Belpois and Rodney Fitzgerald! Aileen Stewart and Ben Marx! Emma Stern and Jacob Dunbar!" he shouted.

The brunette froze when she heard her partner's name. No way! _No_ way! She sure as hell was _not_ going to be paired up with him! She had a tiny (gigantic, huge, _enormous_) crush on him and he probably hated her for what her brother did to him the last time they met! Emma could do nothing but stand still as Jacob slowly approached her. He smiled down at her since he was about three inches taller than her.

"Hey, Emma," he greeted her.

She hesitated before responding.

"Um, h-hey, Jacob," she said.

He sat down on the floor and started doing the warm-ups Pete had instructed them to do. She followed suit and started stretching her legs. It was silent between the two of them before Jacob decided to speak up.

"So...how's Kevin doing? I haven't been able to see him in a long time. I heard he was pulled out of school," he told her.

Emma nodded and switched to the other leg.

"Uh, yeah. My br- I mean, a family relative took him out. Turns out that he was pretty sick, actually," she said.

Well, it wasn't a total lie. Kevin _was_ sick, just not the kind of sick that he was thinking of. Jacob nodded in understanding.

"Well, that's a relief," he said.

Emma glanced up at him and raised an eyebrow. He waved his hands in front of him, shaking his head.

"No, no, no! I'm not glad that Kevin's sick! That would be pretty harsh. I'm just relieved that he wasn't pulled out of school for fighting me. I spent this whole time thinking that because of my stupid mouth, I lost Kadic one of it's star players," he confessed.

The brunette smiled at him.

"Don't worry. Kevin will be back again next year," she told him.

_If there even _is_ a next year_, she told herself. Jacob smiled back and got to his feet, pulling Emma up with him. They were supposed to do jumping jacks next.

"Go!" Pete shouted.

They proceeded to do the exercise. After a few moments, Emma noticed that all the boys weren't really focusing on how many jumping jacks they were supposed to do but were mainly gazing at the – erm – _chest_ area of their female partners. The brunette looked forward and noticed that Jacob was, yes, staring at her chest but it didn't look like he was really doing it on purpose. It was as if he was thinking about something really complicated. He noticed her glare and realized where his eyes had been the whole time. His cheeks became light pink-ish and he looked away. When they were finished with the jumping jacks, Pete released them to go play whatever sports they wanted to play.

Annie ran up to her.

"I'm gonna go play some basketball. Wanna come?" she asked.

Emma smiled but declined the offer. Right now, she wanted to do nothing but sit and rest for a while. Maybe she could even nod off if Pete wasn't watching them too closely. However, Jacob had other ideas and sat down next to her. She smiled at him before staring forward. The navy-haired male laughed nervously.

"H-hey. Um, sorry about the whole staring thing. I wasn't trying to look at your...um..._bosom_. I was just thinking about something and I didn't really notice where I was staring at," he told her.

She just smiled sweetly at him before laughing.

"It's okay, Jake. I understand," she said.

"Well, i-it's not that y-your chest isn't something to l-look at, I was j-just-"

His stuttering was interrupted by Emma loud giggles. He blinked once as she tried to quell her snickers. He frowned.

"What exactly is so funny?" he demanded.

Emma grinned.

"You!"

He raised an eyebrow at her answer.

"What are you talking about?"

Emma motioned towards his body.

"Come on! You're the captain of Kadic's soccer team and you're _stuttering_! It's amusing!" she told him.

He huffed but couldn't help but smile at her response. There was a loud coughing sound in front of them and the two teens looked up to see Lizzy standing in front of them. Emma glared at her.

"What do you want, Lizzy?" she asked.

The black-haired girl flipped her highlighted locks over her shoulder, ignoring her. She focused at the boy in front of her.

"Jacob, dear? Would you like to play some volleyball?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice.

Emma rolled her eyes at Lizzy's tone but smirked when Jacob shook his head.

"Nah, I'm fine," he told her.

She nodded but turned around and walked over to the volleyball court (A/N: Let's pretend that Kadic has one) with her friends. Jacob laughed and Emma couldn't help but laugh along with him. They sat like that for a while before finally calming down. Jacob turned to her.  
"Hey, Em. I wanted to ask you something," he told her.

"No, I am _not_ helping you study for the upcoming exams," she replied quickly.

Jacob chuckled at her response. She turned to look at him.

"What? I've had, like, _ten_ people come up to me and ask 'Emma, can you help me study for the exams that are coming up at the end of the month (A/N: It's May now!)?'. It's getting annoying! I mean, I don't want anyone to fail but they just wanna copy my notes down and ignore me the whole time!" she said.

Jake smirked.

"Oh, come on. That can't be true," he said.

She gave him an expression that said 'Oh, yeah?'.

"They stare at my face the whole time but don't say a damn thing!" she said.

Jacob laughed.

"What's so funny?" she demanded.

He snorted.

"Well, I think that they just ask you to study because they want to spend time with you," he said.

Emma rolled her eyes.

"Whatever."

"Well, I'm just saying what I'm thinking but whatever you think are your own thoughts. Besides, that wasn't what I wanted to ask you," he said.

She turned her body to him, crossing her legs.

"What was it then?" she asked expectantly.

Jacob stared down at the grass, suddenly quiet. Emma tapped his forehead. He looked up at her.

"Come on! You wanted to ask me something then ask me something!" she told him.

He sighed but sat up straight.

"Fine then. Emma Ishiyama Stern. Will you go to the end-of year dance with me?" he asked her (A/N: I made the thing up).

Emma's eyes widened at the request but she managed to stop her mouth from falling open. Had Jake really just asked her that? What the hell was she supposed to tell him? He stared at her, expecting and answer.

"Emma? Are you alright?" he asked, shaking her shoulders.

It seemed that he shook her harder than he intentioned because she was suddenly complaining.

"Ow! Jake, stop that!" she shouted at him.

"Well, you looked like you were going to faint!" he answered, defending himself.

She frowned at him and crossed her arms across her chest. His eyes didn't miss the motions that indicated that she was upset with him. God, that was _not_ what he wanted to happen! He didn't expect her to jump into his arms and declare her everlasting love to him but he expected a better reaction!

"Emma!" he whined in a childish voice.

She sighed and turned away. He rolled his eyes and used his hands to gently turn her face to his.

"Come on! At least give me an answer!" he told her.

She pouted and he thought it was cute. She quirked her lip to the sighed but decided to give him an answer either way.

"Fine," she said.

"Huh?" he asked, surprised she had replied so quickly.

This time, it was _her _turn to roll her eyes.

"I'll go with you!" she told him, louder than she had originally intended.

"Hey, no need to force it on me!" he joked.

She growled and whacked the side of his head. His eyes widened that she had reacted so violently but she just gave him a 'what are you going to do about it?' expression. He stuck his tongue out at her. She smirked and pinched it with her fingers. He pulled it back into his mouth.

"Yuck!"

"Oh, you're such a girl," Emma told him, wiping her fingers on her shorts.

"And you're such a boy," he retorted sarcastically. "So I guess that makes us a perfect match, right?"

She said nothing. Just smirked.

* * *

A/N: I thought about putting Jacob in and giving you a nice chapter. Did it come out alright? Anyways, I've been sick (again, mother#$%&^!) so expect another chapter up in about a day or two.

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!


	64. Manifestation

A/N: Finally got around to writing this! Okay, a pretty serious chapter! I hope you like it!

* * *

Chapter 63

It was the 15th of May and Kadic Academy's soccer team were gathered in the school's locker room, ready to play for the district championship. It was their last game against Landon Academy (A/N: Made up) and Jacob stood in front of the entire team, staring at each and every one of his team players. He sighed to himself and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Alright, I'm not going to bull crap any of you. Landon's a great team and they'll be really hard to beat...but we've made it this far and never lost a game yet. Are we going to let that streak end here?" he asked the team.

"Hell, no!" they shouted back at him.

"That's the spirit! Now let's kick some ass!" Jacob shouted.

"Yeah!" the team cheered.

"Hurry up and get your asses out of there! The games going to start!" came a feminine holler from outside of the locker room.

The boys all chuckled at Mina's impatience but got to their feet, inspired and invigorated. Aaren got off of the bench and started walking towards the door, grabbing his gloves.

"Hey, Aaren! You'd better keep a tight leash on you girlfriend. I might just steal her away," Matthew said as he passed by, winking.

The blonde raised an eyebrow at him but shook the comment off. When he exited the room, he saw Mina standing there with a crossed look on her face. He smiled and walked up to her.

"What's up?" he asked.

She sighed but managed to smile back at him. She looked pretty nervous.

"Not much. Let's just get this thing over with," she told him.

Aaren smirked and nodded, pulling his goalie gloves on. They walked with the rest of the team to Kadic's soccer field. Landon Academy's team were just on the other side of the field. The soccer players looked at the enormous crowd that had formed around the soccer field. Students and teachers from Landon Academy had come to support their team while the Kadic students screamed at the top of their lungs. There were cheerleaders from both schools doing flips and cheers. Mr. Delmas stood in front of the entire crowd with a microphone in his hand.

"Alright, soccer fans! Today we are here to witness the championship match between our very own Kadic Academy-"

There was a chorus of cheers at this point.

"And Landon Academy."

There was a mix of 'boos' from Kadic's side and 'whoos' from Landon's side.

"Let's go KADIC!" came a loud shout from someone in the front of the crowd.

The entire team's heads snapped to the left at the sound of the familiar voice. There, in front of everyone else, was Kevin Stern smirking at them. Emma, Annie, and Jasper were standing right next to him. Ulrich and Yumi were in back of him, waiting patiently for the game to start. The soccer players all waved at their former comrade and he flashed them a thumbs up.

Mr. Delmas called the crowd to attention.

"Well, without further ado. Let the games begin!" he announced.

…

The players from both teams lined up. Jacob had taken over Kevin's spot so he and Caleb were playing as the Forwards. Patrick was Middle Mid-Fielder, Matthew was Left Mid-Fielder and Ian was Right Mid-Fielder, taking over Jacob's position. Mina and Kyle were the Defenders and Aaren stood in front of the goal. Landon had their team players lined up on the field, too. Many of them were large for their ages but Jacob had told them that size didn't always matter.

"Remember," he had said. "The bigger they are, the slower their asses are and the harder it is for them to get the ball."

The referee placed the ball in the middle of the field and stepped back.

BBBRRRIIIIIIIILLLLLPPPPP!

Caleb rushed forward and got the ball, kicking it over to Jacob. The navy-haired boy ran the ball down the field as the Mid-Fielders ran to catch up with him. He kicked the ball over to Matthew who passed it back to Caleb. The blonde took the shot but th Landon goalie jumped forward and caught it. He got to his feet and kicked it across the field. The Landon Mid-Fielders and Forwards got to it first and charged it down onto Kadic's side of the field. One of Landon's Forwards – a blonde girl with brown eyes – tried to get the ball to the goal but she met up with Mina and they fought for possession of the ball. Kyle and one of Landon's Mid-Fielders got involved in the 'fight' and this resulted in the ball being kicked out-of-bounds.

The referee blew the whistle.

"Landon Academy gets the ball," he announced, ushering the female Forward to stand to the side and throw the ball.

She picked up and threw it at one of the Mid-Fielders.

"Come on, Kadic! Get in there!" shouted Aaren.

…

The game was tied: 3-3 and there were only thirty seconds left on the clock. The referee blew the whistle and Landon got the ball. They kicked down the field but Mina managed to get to it first and kicked it back to the other side of the soccer field. Caleb used his head to hit the ball towards Matthew who hit it to Jacob who ran it towards the Defenders. The entire crowd held their breath as he ran to score the ball. He moved left, right, past the Defenders, kicked it and...it flew right beneath the Landon goalie's shoulder!

The whole crowd erupted in applause. Kadic had won the championship! Everyone on Kadic's side ran into the field and picked up the players. The championship trophy seemed to float towards them and Jacob raised it high in the air!

"WE WON!" he shouted with joy.

Caleb, Mina and Aaren laughed at their captain then turned their heads, looking through the crows. Kevin raised his hand to reveal his location. He smirked when they finally saw him, big smiles plastered on their faces. He gave them a simple thumbs-up. They responded by throwing their hands up with glee, shouting and cheering. Kevin felt happy for them winning but only one thought ran through his head at that moment as he saw Aaren and Mina share a sweet kiss in front of everyone.

_That should be me and Jace_.

...

"Ow! Damnit, Jace! That hurts like hell!"

The young girl with black hair and purple highlights laughed as her comrade struggled to get out of her grip. She had his right leg and left arm pinned against his back, making him look something similar to a human pretzel. He struggled again, twisting his body left and right, unknowingly hurting himself even more. She giggled again.

"Look, Angelo, you're not going to beat me if you can't get out of a simple self-defense pin tactic," she told him.

He grumbled when an idea suddenly clicked into his mind. He used his right hand to lift his body up – as if he was doing a one-handed push-up – and used his free leg to kick his body forward. This resulted in the green-haired male doing a forward flip and gave him the momentum to throw Jace forward under him. He flipped around before she could react fully and pinned her down placing his hands on her wrists and putting each of his knees on either side of her hips.

He panted slightly, staring at her face. It took him a moment to realize the position they were in. A small blush covered his face while she stared up at him. Jace thought for a while about their position and the way he was looking at her. If she wasn't sure before, she was sure now. He was attracted to her and she knew it. All of a sudden, she registered that his face was getting closer. She stared at him, unable to really think. Did she like that way? Did she want to be with him that way?

_Kevin_.

That was the only word that passed through her mind and it gave her the will to react. Her knee came up and hit him exactly where a male should never be hit.

"Ugh!" Angelo groaned and pushed himself off of her, rolling to the side.

She backed away from him and got to her feet, glaring at him. He shot daggers right back at her.

"Don't you dare try to do that ever again," she growled at him.

His eyes narrowed at her.

"Do you really think he'll wait for you? After all you've done to him?" he hissed.

A spark of hurt flashed across her features. He had hit vein and it was like had just twisted and tore at it. Suddenly, it was like something snapped in her and her body was acting of its own accord. She grabbed him by the collar and threw him across the room. He hit the wall hard. Jace felt her arm twitch slightly and she looked down at him. It was like she wasn't herself, like her mind wasn't controlling her body.

_What's going on?_

Angelo watched Jace, saw the shift in her posture. He held his side gingerly, he had fallen on it and it was throbbing with pain. He never knew how strong such a little girl could be. After a while, she stopped staring at her hand and looked up at him with a fierce glare. That's when he noticed something. Like a glitch in a computer, her pupils kept morphing between her regular black eyes and XANA's Eye. Her arm looked like they were fighting against metal chains as she lifted them to hold her head in her hands, letting out a small scream in the process.

The green-haired man heard the sound of footsteps approaching and looked up as the door flew open. Katerina – eight months pregnant and bulging – stood there next to the teenage version of XANA – pale white skin, soft brown hair and piercing black eyes. XANA smirked as he saw Jace struggle to control herself, looking more and more like she was trying to fight against some unknown force.

"It's finally manifested," he whispered to himself in a snake-like voice.

Angelo stared up at his master with confusion.

"What's happening? What did you do to her?" he asked.

XANA switched his gaze to the former slave.

"As you know, Jace retracted a virus from me about five months ago. What she didn't know was that the virus was slowly leaking into her brain, feeding her thoughts and actions. It's made her more violent and daring. It fed on her reactions to it and whenever she was in a state of despair – which I'm guessing you just triggered – she loses herself to the virus. It's taken so long for it to finally take over. It only took a few months for the virus to take over Mr. Stern even though Mr. Trevelyan's pill helped to lower the effects. I actually thought she would be the first to succumb but Jasmine's been fighting it for so long..." he trailed off.

The green-haired male watched Jace struggle with herself, twitching and jerking slightly. After about five minutes, the young female stopped moving and fell to the floor. Angelo moved forward one step to approach her when she opened her eyes and looked up at him with a blank stare. The Eye of XANA glared brightly from within her cornea, causing him to jump backwards. Jace got to her feet and stood straight before walking to stand in front of XANA; her face held no emotion. Without hesitation, she got down on one knee and bowed her head at him.

"Master, I've finally won this battle," she said, her voice twisted in distortion.

XANA grinned evilly at her while both Katerina and Angelo gaped at him in horror.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time...What shall I rename you, my most powerful weapon?" he questioned.

The possessed girl looked up at him with a small smile sporting from her lips.

"Damia," she replied quietly. "That's a name that interests me."

XANA nodded.

"May I ask why it interests you, Damia?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Damia grinned with a air of evil around her, causing her to look less like Jace and more monstrous, wilder. Her XANA-fied eyes stared into her master's eyes when she spoke.

"It describes my sole purpose in this life, the reason that you created me. 'To kill.'"

* * *

A/N: To tell you the truth, Jace is one of my favorite characters so I just wanted to do something like this so she isn't responsible for what she's going to do in the next few chapters...REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!


	65. Unexpected Announcements

A/N: Gosh, I am possibly the laziest person on earth. Sorry for the late update! I've had a helluva lot of school work and projects to do. I've only been able to spend about an hour on my laptop each day and I've had other things to do so, yeah, life sucks. I hope you enjoy this chapter though!

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Chapter 64

Two male blonde figures were walking down the hallways of Kadic along with everyone else attending the school. One of them – the shorter one – seemed to be complaining about something while the other one just looked annoyed.

"Dude, I _so_ failed!" Aaren cried in a miserable tone.

Caleb rolled his eyes at his friend's over dramatization. He _really_ didn't get what his friend was worrying about.

"Aaren, you've gotten C's and B's on the tests that Mrs. Meyer passed out the whole semester. I don't think you failed," he told his friend.

Aaren crossed his arms across his chest, huffing.

"Well, I had _Kevin_ here to help with all that. Now, I don't. This totally bites! Not even soccer can distract me! I am _so_ going to retain!" he grumbled out.

Caleb's eyebrow twitched in irritation and he sighed heavily. Three days after finals was done – now the last day of May – and Aaren was still worried about his grades. It was aggravating to the point where Caleb had to restrain himself from physically harming his friend.

"I think we should focus more on fighting XANA than your grades. If the world ends then whether or not you passed Geometry won't matter at all," he told his friend.

"Well, that won't be happening now then, would it?" came a voice behind them.

They turned around and saw Annie and Jasper standing behind them. Jasper was holding the big red binder in his arms while Annie was holding a blue one. She seemed to be in a _very_ good mood.

"What's up, Annie?" Aaren asked.

The pinkette beamed up at him and seemed to be jumping up and down from her spot in the hallway. Her older brother briefly wondered how long it would take until she started bouncing off of the walls.

"I take it that you're here to give us good news?" Caleb asked.

Annie nodded her head with vigor. Caleb and Aaren waited but Annie just continued to grin at them creepily. Finally, Aaren decided to break the silence.

"Would you mind telling us what the news is then?" he questioned.

The pink-haired girl smiled sheepishly.

"Meet us after school at the bench in Kadic's courtyard. I'll call Kevin and the others and tell them to meet us there, too," she told them.

Caleb rolled his eyes at Annie's enthusiasm but flashed her a thumbs-up either way.

"See you there at three-thirty," she said, taking Jasper's hand and pulling him along to their next class.

Aaren turned to his friend.

"You're sister is a nut, you know that?" he joked.

Caleb sighed.

"Pfft! You have _no_ idea."

…

Angelo gazed wearily out the window of Katerina's little cottage, his eyes focused on the figure currently training in the little yard in back of the house. Jace – or 'Damia' as she had forced him to call her – was busy breaking the training boards with her bare fists. This virus was nothing like the old Jace. She was stoic, ruthless with a sick sense of humor. Damia thought that it was 'fun' to shoot down passing butterflies with the small pebbles that littered the side of Katerina's home. Jace never would've done something like that.

The green-haired male shifted his gaze to the woman sitting on a comfortable, black leather chair in the middle of her office. Katerina was taking it easy, considering that she knew her child would be born any time soon.

"Do you tolerate Damia, Ms. Volta?" Angelo asked her.

The redheaded woman looked up at the boy standing in front of her window, surprised that he had asked such a question. She stared forward at the door.

"I tolerate her because XANA tolerates her – loves her even. He treats her like a princess, buying her everything she wants with the money he takes from the people he possesses. I guess...it's because she is the key to everything. The key to all his plans and he does not want to lose her. Why?" Katerina asked him with an eyebrow raised. "Do you have a problem with Damia?"

Angelo shrugged.

"She's a sadistic woman. To tell you the truth, I miss Jasmine. She was better company," he told her.

Katerina smiled.

"Yes. She was. I think she was pretty noble. She gave up everything to protect her loved ones. She gave up her family, friends and the love of her life. That was a very hard decision for such a young girl. She knew what she was giving up yet she still did it. Her actions showed how much she was willing to sacrifice to keep her family safe even though she knew that – in the end – she might not be able to protect them. Jasmine was...a good person, I think," she said in a quiet voice.

The green-haired male nodded.

"I think so, too."

"All I can say is that she kept her emotions pretty bottled up. She rarely showed that she missed her friends and played her part as XANA's minion well, too. Jasmine was very strong. And smart. I really miss having her around to help me with my chemical testing," she told Angelo.

He smiled.

"Yeah. She was really good at those. Sorry, I'm not much of a school person," he said.

Katerina gave him a small grin.

"No one can blame you, Angelo. There are just some things that you can't help."

The green-haired boy looked over at her before letting out a quiet chuckle.

"I guess, you're right."

Angelo stared out the window, his mind elsewhere. He almost didn't here the sound of the chair falling back as Katerina rose to her feet suddenly. He turned around to see her gripping the side of her desk tightly. It looked like water was running down her thighs and Angelo understood what was happening. He ran forward and placed his hands on her sides.

"Your water broke already?" he asked her, his voice shaking with anxiety.

Katerina took in a deep breath and nodded.

"Call an ambulance, Angelo. Quick."

…

The Lyoko Warriors – including Kevin, Kyo and Draco – were gathered all around each other near the spot that Annie had asked them to meet at. The pinkette stood there with her blue binder held tightly in her arms. She looked at them with a smile so bright that it put the sun's light to shame. Mina placed her hand on her hip.

"Annie, what's going on?" she questioned her friend.

The pinkette's smile widened until Mina was growing nervous about whether or not it would rip her face in half. Annie took in a deep breath and paused before opening her mouth to speak.

"I have really good news!" she announced.

Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"Let me guess. The anti-virus program is finished?" he guessed.

A tiny fist came flying at his shoulder. WHACK! Kevin stared at Annie in surprise and held his shoulder gingerly. For a tiny girl, Annie could punch _hard_! The pink-haired female glared at him.

"_I_ wanted to do the announcement!" she complained.

Jasper rolled his eyes at Annie before stepping forward.

"We finished the program late last night. We'll do a test run on June 2nd to see if it'll work properly," he told them.

Draco frowned as he took that statement in.

"That's in two days," he said slowly.

Jasper turned to look at him.

"Yes, I know. It's cutting it close but it gives us two days to find Jace and remove the virus growing inside of her. That is, _if_ we can get her onto Lyoko," said the redhead.

Aaren scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Geez, seriously. I'm betting that Jace and that weirdo with green hair will probably be on Lyoko during the attack. XANA would want his 'minions' with him when he launches the attack."

Kevin nodded, putting his hands inside of his pockets.

"He'll need them to help him fight against us and help defend the towers so that we won't deactivate any of them. He needs to activate all the towers at once. That'll put us at a disadvantage if we split up and XANA will have the upper hand. He'll probably try to trick us into doing something stupid," he said.

Mina looked at Annie with a straight face.

"Kevin's right. We'll need to be as prepared as possible."

Annie beamed at then.

"I'll get right on it!" she squealed.

…

"Okay, now. Katerina, you're going to be alright," Angelo told the older woman currently laying down on a hospital bed.

There were doctors and nurses surrounding the red-haired woman as she prepared to give birth. The teen male gritted his teeth as Katerina went through another contraction and squeezed his hand so tightly that he felt it would fall off. It was already going numb. The doctor looked up at the both of them. He was wearing a blue hospital suit and a mask over his mouth.

"Okay, Ms. Volta," he began. "I'm going to ask you to push hard."

Katerina nodded once and Angelo's eyes focused on her face as she struggled to push her child out of her. She let out a low scream from the strain of giving birth. The doctors looked over at Katerina.

"I can see the head of the baby. Come on, Ms. Volta. Just one more push!" he told her.

The red-haired lady nodded before pushing, once more. She screamed again as she pushed the baby out. Angelo stared at her face before his eyes widened as he heard a loud sound. The sound of a baby crying. He turned his head to the doctor who was handing the baby over to a nurse to be wrapped in a blanket.

"It's a boy!" the nurse announced.

He smiled before looking back at the woman lying down.

"Okay, Katerina. You did well," he told her.

The doctor seemed to smiling before he noticed something odd. His eyebrow's raised in surprise and he got into a birthing position, once again.

"Uh, Ms. Volta! You have another one coming!" he said in a loud voice.

Katerina gaped down at him. Angelo's head snapped in the doctor's direction. What the hell did he just say?

"What the hell did you just say?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

The doctor nodded.

"You are about to have another baby! Please! Push, Ms. Volta!" he ordered.

Katerina had no other option so she pushed, hard. Her hand clamped down on Angelo's hand and it took all of his willpower not to yank it away from her and shake it until her could feel again. After about a minute, the sound of two babies crying filled the air of the room. The doctor handed the second baby to another nurse. The woman wrapped the baby up carefully before smiling at Katerina.

"Oh! This one's a girl!" she told the mother.

Both nurses walked over to Katerina and handed the babies over carefully. The redhead held them in her arms, her mouth slightly open in awe. Angelo grinned at the sight before him. He had never seen Katerina so happy. One of the nurse's leaned toward him.

"Take good care of your mother, eh?" she said.

Angelo opened his mouth to tell the woman that Katerina wasn't his mother but shut it a second later. Why ruin the moment? He returned his gaze to the two infants in Katerina's arms. They looked exactly alike.

Both babies had red hair like their mother and dark eyes. They had pale skin and were each pretty small for infants but not so small that they looked premature. The doctor sighed from the side of the room.

"That was a quick labor. Quicker than most and _very_ quick for twins," he told one of the nurses.

The lady just smiled. You could barely see it because of her blue head piece but she had brown hair and blue eyes. She glanced once at Katerina.

"Maybe she's just a very strong woman."

Angelo smiled at his friend.

"What are you going to name them?" he asked.

She shrugged.

"How about naming them after someone dear to you?" he suggested.

Katerina nodded and smiled up at him; she was practically glowing.

"I know what to name them."

Angelo raised an eyebrow.

"And what might that be?" he asked.

She chuckled lightly.

"Angelo and Jasmine Volta."

* * *

A/N: Leave me a review?


	66. Change of Plans

A/N: Sorry for updating late again! It's gonna be like this for quite a while cuz I'm so busy but I'll try to update as early as possible! I have some free time coming up so I'll try and update this weekend, alright?

**Kyo's PIC: **

http:/i1189(dot)photobucket(dot)com/albums/z430/effinemo13/SGR/KyoKobayashi(dot)png

P.S: I love you guys for being so supportive and dedicated! So...here's a new chapter! ENJOY!

* * *

Chapter 65

June 2nd

Back in Kadic Academy, the Lyoko Warriors were standing in their usual spot around the bench in Kadic's courtyard. Jasper and Annie stood in front of their comrades with confident looks on heir faces. Kevin stood with the rest of the, looking back and forth between the both of them.

For a brief second, he let out a small yawn.

"So what time are you guys going to start the trial run?" he asked in a quiet tone.

Jasper looked at his watch.

"Well, it's 3:35 pm right now. We'll start the trial run at about 5 o' clock," said the redhead.

Emma's eyebrows shot up.

"That's going to be tonight, right?" she asked.

Annie nodded.

"Why?" asked the pinkette.

Emma crossed her legs.  
"Well, the end-of-year dance is tonight," she stated.

Annie slapped her forehead.

"Crap! I forgot! Oh well, I guess that Jazz and I will just show up a little late," she said with a shrug.

The brunette nodded vaguely. Aaren perked up at the mention of the subject.

"Oh yeah!"

He turned to Mina.

"Be ready by 4:45, 'kay? I'll stop by your dorm to pick you up," he informed her.

The navy-haired girl smiled at her boyfriend and nodded.

"Sure. I'll be ready by then," she told him.

Kevin smiled at his friend. He was happy that Aaren was going to have something to distract himself tonight. God only knows that he _himself_ needed a break. Since he wasn't going to school for a while, Ulrich had asked him to assist at the dojo. Kevin didn't want to disappoint his father so, naturally, he agreed. The training was getting to him, though. He wasn't so used to waking up so early. Unknowingly, he sighed to himself but it was heard by the whole group.

Aaren cocked an eyebrow at him.

"What's wrong, Kev? Bummed because you're missing a silly little dance?" he asked with a grin.

Kevin looked down at him and shook his head. He lifted his hand and rubbed the back of his head.

"Not really. I'm just a little tired from helping my dad out at work," he replied.

He felt eyes on him as he rubbed his eyes with his hands. His sister was the first to speak.

"Well, don't go overboard, Kev. You need to be ready and energized when XANA launches his attack," she said.

Caleb nodded.

"Yeah, bro. You can't be falling asleep when the world's going to blow to pieces," he spoke.

Kevin grinned tiredly at his friends and shook his head at them. He looked at each of them.

"I'm fine, guys. Just a bit sleepy but I'm not going to collapse any time soon. Don't worry about me," he told them.

They all looked at him carefully before nodding.

"Yeah. Kevin can take care of himself. He's a big boy, now," Mina told Aaren.

The blonde pretended like he was crying.

"My baby boy's growing up so fast!" he cried in a dramatic voice.

Kevin grinned and shook his head. He gave Aaren a small kick on the arm. Naturally, his best friend recoiled from the action. He held his arm like it would fall off his body if he didn't hold it closely or strong enough. His eyes shot daggers at his friend.

"Ow! Goddammit! Kevin, you ass!" he complained.

The dark-haired boy just chuckled. Jasper sighed in exasperation but smiled nonetheless.

"So Kevin, 5 o' clock. Don't be late," he told him.

The young Stern turned to look at the redhead before nodding.

…

"Katerina, your children are really adorable," Angelo said in a soft voice, holding the infants in his arms.

He had nicknamed the babies 'Minny' and 'Junior' seeing how it was odd for him calling them by their birth names. The redheaded woman laughed at the green-haired male. The boy was practically inseparable from the two infants. She had been let out early from the hospital and she was glad for it. Being a doctor herself, she knew how to take care of herself. Besides, Angelo was doing a great job of caring for both her and her babies. Katerina had noticed that she hadn't seen 'Damia' or XANA in a couple of days. She briefly wondered what had happened to them.

A knock on the door seemed to answer her question.

Both of them looked up as XANA – the teenage version – and Damia walked in. Katerina vaguely noticed that Damia's highlights were not purple as Jace's had been. Now, they were red. The two of them looked between Katerina and the infants in Angelo's arms. XANA barely gave them a second glance. His eyes focused on their mother, instead.

"Katerina. Are you capable of moving?" he questioned.

The woman nodded and stood up straight, as if to prove her point. He nodded at her in satisfaction. He stood up straighter than usual. Katerina saw that Damia's eyes were darting back and forth between both infants with a disgusted look on her face. It was like she was the human and _they_ were the viruses.

"Are they really necessary, Master?" she whispered in XANA's ear.

Neither Angelo nor Katerina could hear her. The brown-haired human embodiment stared down at her with a calm expression.

"Yes, Damia. They are needed," he told her in a soft tone.

Damia didn't look pleased with his answered but nodded either way. XANA turned and focused his gaze on Katerina with a serious visage.

"Ms. Volta. It's time that you do what I originally planned for you to do," he said.

The redhead's eyes widened and she gulped.

"Y-you mean..." she trailed off.

XANA nodded.

"Yes. I want you to take Angelo, Damia and the infants to the safe place. We're starting things earlier than planned," he told her.

Damia smiled maliciously at them while Katerina shook slightly. Angelo placed the babies down in their crib and walked over to her. She stared at him for a moment before snapping out of her shocked state. She shook her head from side to side before she wiped all the emotion from her face.

"Angelo. I want you to prepare the baby stuff. Formula, clothes, diapers, everything. I'm going to take all of us somewhere. I need to make sure my children are going to be taken care of. Do it. Now!" she ordered him.

Angelo jumped back slightly from the loudness of her voice but nodded quickly. He turned and ran out the door, gathering things and stuffing them into the baby bags. Katerina sighed and stared at XANA with an unfathomable look on her face. Her gaze then turned to Damia.

"Get your things ready. We're leaving."

…

Everyone was at the dance. Music was blaring from the giant speakers as the lead singer of some band Kadic had hired sang into the microphone. It seemed that they were all having a good time. People were standing around the punch bowls and many others were dancing.

Caleb stood off to the side, conversing with some of the boys from Kadic. He was wearing a blue tuxedo and had his hair spiked more than usual. He noticed that Lizzy was standing around with her friends. They all looked pretty peeved for some reason. Mina and Aaren had arrived early and were dancing in the middle of the dance floor. The song was medium tempo so Aaren wasn't going crazy like he usually did. He wore a white dress shirt with an orange tie under a black vest, black pants and orange sneakers. Mina contrasted him with a simple light blue dress with blue sandals and a silver necklace with the name 'Mina' written in cursive.

Emma walked in wearing a beautiful white, strapless dress with yellow flowers along the bottom that reached about an inch above her knees. She wore white sandals, topaz earrings and a simple yellow ribbon to tie her hair up. Jacob spotted her instantly and ran up to her.

Lizzy looked angry at the action. Caleb wondered to himself if he would have to make sure that the cheerleader didn't rip his friend's face off. He smiled to himself at the thought before turning back to talk to a friend from the soccer team.

Jacob stared at Emma as he moved toward her. She took in his outfit. It was simple yet elegant. He was wearing a fitting black tuxedo and had his hair gelled slightly so that it was chaotically organized perfectly. She smiled when he approached her and bowed slightly, giving her a rose.

"May this fellow ask the young lady to dance?" he asked, holding his other hand out towards her.

She smiled at him and placed her hand in his while grabbing the rose in the other, curtsying.

"Yes, he may," she answered, using the same formal tone he had.

He grinned at her and pulled her towards the middle of the dance floor. She followed gladly.

…

Jasper, Annie and Kevin all stood around the super computer. The pinkette and the young Stern watched in silence as Jasper inserted the CD into the computer. There was a low hum as the computer scanned through the disk and read it. A few windows popped up and Jasper looked through them carefully before pressing a few buttons here and there. He scanned it through and started up the program. They all watched as another window popped up, showing that it was loading the program.

"How long is this going to have to load?" Kevin asked Jasper.

The redhead turned his head toward his friend. The dark-haired boy was staring at the big hologram that was projecting the image of the core of Lyoko. He shrugged.

"I'm guessing about a minute or two," he said.

He looked down at his watch.

"Hm, the dance is starting. It's already 5:30," he commented.

Kevin turned to look at Jasper before smirking at him.

"Took you that long to load up a CD?" he asked.

Jasper shrugged his shoulders. He tapped his foot impatiently.

"Maybe I'm just nervous," he replied, turning his head back to the screen.

"Well, at least, you have a reason to be," Annie said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

There was a loud beeping sound and Jasper sat up straight in his chair. He looked at the computer and started pressing numerous keys. Kevin came closer to him. He saw a red exclamation mark within a circle flashing across the screen.

"What's going on? What happened?" he asked.

Jasper muttered to himself, looking more and more perplexed by the second.

"No! It wasn't supposed to happen this early! What made him rush his plans?" Jasper shouted in a panicked voice.

Kevin grabbed him by the shoulders and made Jasper face him.

"Jazz, calm down! What the hell is going on?" he questioned.

The redhead took in a deep breath and stared at him with fearful eyes.

"You need to call everyone in," he said.

Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"Why? What went wrong?" he asked.

Jasper turned back to look at Annie before looking back at Kevin.

"XANA's started his attack early. You need to get to the scanners while I call everyone. He launches the nuclear weapons at midnight."

* * *

A/N: I'm horrible, aren't I? XD

CLIFFIE! CLIFFIE! CLIFFIE!

Haha! **REVIEW** if you want to see what happens next!


	67. Finale: Part 1

A/N: This is probably gonna be a 3-5 part ending. Here's the first part! I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Chapter 66

Aaren twirled Mina around with his hand. She laughed as they danced to the music. The beat was fast and they were enjoying the night. All of a sudden, Aaren felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out after looking at the caller ID.

"Hey, Jazz. What's crackin'?" he asked in a playful voice.

Mina laughed again.

"Get Mina, Caleb and Emma to the factory immediately. XANA's starting up his attack. He'll launch the nuclear bombs at midnight. Get your butts here," Jasper ordered in a serious tone.

Aaren froze, eyes widening. The blood drained from his face, leaving him stark white. His girlfriend stared at him as he let the phone fall from his hands. It hit the floor with a sharp _thwack. _Mina placed her hands on Aaren's shoulders, wondering what had shaken him up so badly.

"Aaren? What's wrong? Aaren!" she shouted, shaking him slightly.

The blonde focused on her before letting out a huge breath.  
"XANA's attacking. We need to find Emma and Caleb," he told her, bending down to pick up his cell phone.

He lifted it to his ear.  
"Aaren?" came from the ear piece.

"We'll try to be there as fast as we can," he said.

"Well, hurry the hell up. We've got 6 hours and 20 minutes," Jasper answered.

Aaren grunted in response and shut his phone shut. He looked around and saw Mina already running over to Emma who was dancing with Jacob. Aaren turned his head around, frantically searching for his comrade, Caleb. He saw him standing over to the side with a couple of boys. He squared his shoulders and made a beeline for his friend. Caleb was laughing at something one of the boys said when Aaren grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to turn around. The young Belpois grinned at the boy in front of him.

"What's up, Aaren? Where's Mina and why do you look so freaked out?" he asked. staring worriedly at his best friend.

Instead of answering, Aaren just grabbed him by the elbow and started pulling him toward the exit. The Belpois male's face held an expression filled with confusion.

"Where are we going, dude?" Caleb asked.

Aaren searched around for Mina and saw her and Emma heading towards them. The brunette looked completely shocked and seemed to be trying to get the blood moving through her veins, once more. Both blonde boys waited for them. The girls caught with them and they all ran out the door.

Nobody noticed them as they left.

"Guys, what's going on?" Caleb asked, louder this time.

Aaren turned back to look at him as they started running towards the forest.

"XANA's started his attack early. We've got to get to the factory. The nuclear bombs will be launched at midnight. So we have to hurry the hell up otherwise: KABOOM!" he told him.

Caleb's mouth fell open but he kept running with them. They neared the manhole that led to the sewers when a laser suddenly shot out from behind them. All four of them dodged towards the ground, avoiding the blast. When the dirt cleared away, the teens turned around to see two men in black suits standing less than twenty feet behind them. One of them lowered the hand he had been holding up.

"Specters," Aaren muttered, getting to his feet.

The two men walked closer to them. They all stood up and backed away slightly. One of the specters lifted his hand toward them and a bolt of electricity shot out of it. The Lyoko Warriors jumped out of the way of the line of fire. Caleb, Mina and Emma hid behind trees but Aaren remained in their line of sight.

"Aaren, what are you doing?" Mina shouted.

The young Della Robbia turned his head to glance at her with determined dark eyes.

"I'm buying you guys more time. Get your butts to the factory. I can hold them off for a while," he told her.

Mina's eyes widened.

"No! You can't, Aaren! They'll kill you!" she screamed.

He glared at her.

"If you guys don't manage to make it to Lyoko then we're all going to die. Mina, let me do this!" he requested, dodging left to avoid get hit by another electricity bolt.

Mina was about to protest when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Caleb standing behind her. He was staring down at her. She looked like she was about to cry.

"Mina. This is something he has to do," he told her.

She stared at him before turning to look back at Aaren. Her boyfriend looked up at her. She nodded at him and he sighed with a small smile. He got to his feet and ran in front of the specters. One of them aimed his hand at him. Aaren jumped left when the specter shot at him.

"Go!" he shouted.

Mina, Emma and Caleb ran for the manhole, lifting it up. Emma jumped in first, followed by Caleb. Mina was halfway down before taking one last glance at Aaren. He turned back to smile at her, flashing her a small wink. She blinked back tears.

"Come back to me, alright?" she asked him.

Aaren nodded, dodging another laser. He hid behind a tree then turned his eyes to her. He gave her a calm smile, one that touched her heart.

He chuckled.

"Go, Mina. I love you."

...

At the center of the Carthage Sector, a huge countdown clock hovering high above the core of Lyoko. It counted seconds, minutes and hours. Currently, it read: 6:13:48, counting down one second at a time. XANA floated in front of the spherical object protected by two shields. The core pulsed lightly from within its confinement. XANA stared blankly at the object.

He had brown hair, black eyes and was wearing a black leather cape that floated around him, defying gravity, over a white button-up, tight black pants and black combat boots. Around his waist was a six-foot-long, sheathed katana. He held the head of the sword lightly, making sure it was still there. Damia and Angelo were hovering lightly by his side, wings spread out. The female was grinning at her master while the male had nothing but a solemn expression on his face.

He smiled at the core.

"So, Master, you plan on taking all the power within the core of Lyoko when you launch your attack?" Damia asked.

XANA turned to her and nodded.

"Yes. Once I take in this power, you and I will unite and form a super-virus that will completely take over the nuclear weapons within the Five Nuclear Powers. At this moment, I will broadcast the act to the entire world," he told her.

Damia smiled at him. Angelo stared at the core quietly.

"What will happened to Katerina and the children?" he questioned in a soft voice.

XANA turned to him.

"They will be safe from the nuclear weapons. A few selected others will also be left behind. I will reshape this earth into a world controlled and inhabited by computers. It will be a glorious triumph," he said in a proud voice.

Angelo stared at him with a blank expression. In his eyes, it was no triumph but he was eternally indebted to XANA. He would not argue with the computer virus's logic.

"So what will happen to the humans, Master?" he asked.

XANA shrugged.

"Spare parts, I guess. They will just be used as slaves. Not like you've never seen that, right? Do you have a problem with that?" he replied snidely,

Damia snickered at the answer. The green-haired boy turned away from XANA. He felt the need to sigh but held it back.

"No, Master."

…

Jasper and Annie entered the scanners.

"I'm going to virtualize you guys into the Carthage Sector. XANA is in the center. He's near the core of Lyoko," Kevin told them.

The two of them turned around and the scanner doors closed in front of them. Kevin took in a deep breath and pressed a few keys, starting up the virtualization process.

"Transfer Jasper. Transfer Annie."

Wind blew out through the scanners. Jasper clicked at the keyboard quickly. Two ID cards showed up on the computer screen. One had a pink X on it, the other had a red hand.

"Scanner Jasper. Scanner Annie."

The two teens closed their eyes as they floated upwards and the halo within the scanners moved up and down the giant cylinder, scanning their bodies. Kevin clicked ENTER.

"Virtualization."

A huge gust of wind blew out from below the scanner and white light overcame them. The next moment, they were being materialized on Lyoko. Each warrior landed on their feet. Annie looked around.

Kevin's screen beeped.

"Three monsters coming at you," he warned them.

There was a loud roaring sound and both teens turned to see three Creepers crawling along the walls of the Carthage Sector, heading straight towards them. Jasper backed away slightly and breathed in, concentrating.

"Mutation!" he shouted.

The redhead's body expanded until a red Manta with a white upside-down version of XANA's Eye on it's head was floating slightly above Annie's head. The pinkette lifted her hands and started shooting energy X's at the Creepers. She managed to take out two of the three. The Jasper-Manta shot a laser at the last one and hit it in the head, instantly de-virtualizing it.

"Good job, Jazz," said Annie, looking up at the Manta.

There was a small clapping sound and the pinkette's head snapped forward. She saw Jace standing there – or at least, a replica of her. This Jace had red highlights and looked a lot more malicious.

"Jace," she breathed out.

The girl frowned before shaking her head from side to side.

"Uh...no. I'm not Jace. She was merely nothing more than a pawn in XANA's game whereas, I am the queen. My name's Damia...and I am what you would call XANA's 'virus'," she said in a distorted voice.

Annie's eyes widened before she breathed in deeply.

"Kevin. Activate the anti-virus program," she spoke.

"Got it."

Damia smirked at the pink-haired girl. She looked down at her fingernails as if she had no interest in either of them.

"Do you really think that stupid little program will get rid of me? Seriously," she said with a cackle. "That thing isn't going to help anybody."

Annie raised an eyebrow but kept quiet. Suddenly, there was a loud screeching sound and a huge flock of white, glowing birds started flying towards Damia. This flock was the anti-virus program.

Damia laughed as the birds approached her.

"Birds? Wow, you humans come up with the strangest thing," she said nonchalantly.

Annie and Jasper watched in awe as the group of birds closed in on her. Damia didn't looked fazed at all, though, as they attacked her. There were so many of them that they covered her entire body. The Lyoko Warriors waited impatiently when, suddenly, there was a loud explosion. Annie covered her eyes for a moment to shield her retinas from the blinding light caused by the blast. When she could see again, she didn't fail to notice that Damia was still standing there – her wings now spread wide – with a twisted grin on her face.

She laughed loudly as Annie stared at her in horror.

"Do you see now? Your little program is useless!"

* * *

A/N: What a twist? Haha, cliffie!

REVIEW OR THOU SHALL NOT SEE THY NEXT CHAPTER! ^_^


	68. Finale: Part 2

A/N: Here's another chapter! Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Chapter 67

Kevin covered his face with his hands, shaking his head from side to side.

"No, no, no!" he muttered, slamming his fist down on the chairs armrest.

The whole Carthage Sector was quiet. Annie gawked, mouth wide open as Damia turned away from them. Her black and red-streaked hair flew over her shoulder as she walked away. The atmosphere reeked of self-satisfaction.

"Where are you going?" asked the pinkette.

Damia stopped and twisted her body around slowly, glancing back at the young, pink-haired girl. Annie looked seriously shaken. Now that the anti-virus program had failed, there was no way to destroy XANA without hurting Kevin or Jace.

Damia smirked.

"Hm, wouldn't you like to know?" she replied.

The virus's black wings spread out around her and covered her body. The sound of wind whooshing could be heard as Damia did her disappearing act. As if dead, the wings fell to the floor and Damia was no longer there. Her voice echoed off of the walls.

"Prepare yourself. Monsters coming," she warned them followed by an evil chuckle.

Both the Jasper-Manta and Annie watched as three Bloks, two Krabes, six Hornets and three Tarantulas were materialized in front of them. To top it all off, Angelo was leading them. He hovered lightly above them in his green kimono, holding his sword in his hands. The pinkette's eyes widened in fear.

"Kevin?" she called out.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Launch Code: Last Resort," she ordered.

Kevin nodded and clicked away at the keyboard.

"What does this do?" he asked.

"It raises the Lyoko Warriors' health points to 10,000. It can only be used once, though. It'll automatically up the health points of any Lyoko Warrior that enters Lyoko," she explained.

Kevin typed in the letters L-A-S-T-R-E-S-O-R-T. The screen beeped loudly and he watched as Annie and Jasper's ID cards showed up on the screen. He stared in amazement as their health points boosted their was up to 10,000 points.

"Gotcha."

There was a loud hissing sound and Kevin turned around in his seat to see Mina, Emma and Caleb come in from the elevator. He noticed that someone was missing.

"Where's Aaren?" he asked.

"Stalling," Caleb said before jumping down to the scanner room, completely skipping the ladder steps.

Kevin turned to look at Mina and Emma.

"Hurry. Annie and Jasper are up against an entire army. I'll be sending you directly to the Carthage Sector," he told them.

Both girls nodded their heads and ran down to the scanner room. They stepped into the giant cylindrical pieces of technology and Kevin started up the virtualization process.

"Transfer Caleb. Transfer Mina. Transfer Emma."

"Scanner Caleb. Scanner Mina. Scanner Emma."

"Virtualization."

The three teens all landed on the floor of the Carthage Sector with a small chorus of _thumps_. When they looked up, what they saw would freak out anyone who had not been prepared for the scene. Annie was dodging attack after attack while Jasper was launching lasers at Angelo who blocked each laser with his sword.

Caleb looked at his female comrades.

"Emma, take on the Hornets. Mina, help out Annie with the Bloks and the Krabes. While Jasper is busy with Angelo, I'll start working on fighting the Tarantulas," he told them.

"Got it," both girls said in unison before each one set off to fight the monsters they had been ordered to fight.

Caleb looked forward at the first Tarantula. He lifted his hand.

"Eat this."

…

Aaren's fists clenched as he tried to slow his pounding heart. He took in deep breaths, trying to satiate his lungs who were screaming at him to take a rest from all the running. But he couldn't. He had been running from the Specters for over ten minutes. That was more than enough time for Mina and the others to get to the factory. Making sure that the Specters didn't see him, he dodged behind a tree, falling to his knees. He breathed in and out – long, desperate breaths. He really couldn't keep this up much longer. He had been running, jumping and dodging laser left and right.

He looked down at his arm. There was a big slash along his left bicep. The result of one of the Specters' lasers actually hitting it mark. He used his right hand to rip off the left sleeve of his dress shirt and used it to bind the spot above his wound in a tight tourniquet. The blonde lifted his head at the sound of footsteps approaching.

These idiots had no idea when to stop, didn't they?

Aaren lifted his dark eyes forward. He had no choice but to run. There was no way for him to fight the Specters. Normal human weapons couldn't hurt them. Only things like electricity could. Aaren's eyes flew wide open he heard a blast right behind him. He ducked low and covered his head as a chunk of the tree behind him blew into little pieces.

"Agh!" he shouted.

There was the sound of something creaking and Aaren looked up to see the tree starting fall down towards him. Without a second thought, the young Della Robbia pushed himself off of the ground and started to run forward, trying to beat the tree in its quest to crush him.

He lost.

Aaren screamed in agony as the trunk of the tree came crashing down on his right leg. He gritted his teeth so hard that it hurt his jaw.

"UGH!"

He pulled at his leg, trying to ignore the pain and focus more on getting himself out of there. Footsteps pattering down on grass made him freeze and shift his gaze to the Specters approaching. One of them – a man with brown hair – lifted his hand and prepared to shoot a laser at him. Aaren covered his face with his hands. He heard the sound of the electricity crackling and waited for the final blow.

It never came.

The blonde froze, wondering when he was going to be hit with a thousand volts of electric shock. He heard more footsteps and cringed. Maybe they had delayed the moment to save it?

"Get up," came a deep voice from above him.

Wait a minute. Aaren recognized that voice. He uncovered his face and looked up to see Kyo Kobayashi towering over him. The man held a taser in one hand and had his trademark smirk plastered on his face. Aaren gazed at him in both relief and amazement. He was speechless for a moment before he finally regained his ability to speak.

"T-thank you," he told Kyo in a quiet voice.

Kyo looked down at the blonde boy on the ground before him. His arm was bleeding and had covered his hand in the red liquid. Half of his face had blood smothered on it because he had used his hands to cover his face. All in all, he looked like one big, bloody mess. Kyo frowned.

"I said get up," he ordered Aaren.

The boy looked up at him and sighed.

"I can't," he said.

Kyo raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean you c- _Oh_," he said, his eyes finally focusing on Aaren leg.

He stared at the big tree. It wasn't as big as the others but it still looked pretty heavy. Kyo looked around for something to use for leverage and found a smaller tree that had fallen over but still looked pretty firm. It wasn't so heavy so Kyo dragged it over to the spot next to Aaren. He positioned it under the tree and lifted the other end. He stared down at the blonde boy on the ground.

"Alright. On the count of three. I'm going to push tree off and you're going to have to pull your leg out. Just pull yourself away from the tree. Do you understand?" he asked.

Aaren nodded his head and placed his arms firmly on the ground, waiting for Kyo to start. The young man braced himself and lifted the tree hard, pushing it up wit all his might. It raised up by only one foot but that was enough for Aaren. He dragged himself away from the spot, using his arms and good leg to pull himself five feet from the spot. Kyo let out a low grunt as he dropped the tree and stepped away.

The brown-haired man turned to see Aaren gripping his now-crushed leg with his hand. His mouth was twisted down in a grimace. Kyo knelt beside him before grabbing the boy's arms and pulling him onto his back. He made sure to keep himself from touching and further injured Aaren's broken leg.

"Alright. Let's go."

…

Emma used her fan to block the oncoming lasers by the Hornets. She flipped backwards and when she was still in mid-air she twisted her body so that she could throw her giant fan. It flew towards the band of Hornets and managed to cut through three of them. Just as Emma landed on her feet, the fan flew back at her and she caught it in her hand.

"Three more to go," she muttered.

Right in back of the brunette, Mina and Annie were working together to fight the oncoming monsters. They had already destroyed one Krabe and two of the Bloks. The navy-haired girl used her sword to deflect the lasers coming from the remaining Krabe and Blok. Annie launched another Energy X at the Blok. It hit it's mark and de-virtualized it instantly. She launched another Energy X to block the laser coming from the Krabe. Mina glanced over her shoulder to see Caleb getting pummeled by the Tarantulas. To tell you the truth, he didn't look like he was doing very well. He lifted his hand and launched a blue laser at the Tarantula charging towards him. He had already destroyed one of the three and the other Tarantula was right behind the one moving forward to attack him.

An idea clicked into Mina's mind at that moment.

"Caleb!" she shouted.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye before jumping back to avoid another laser.

"What?" he asked.

"Go invisible!" she ordered.

"Excuse me?" he asked incredulously, forgetting his power.

Mina rolled her eyes as she joined the handles of her swords. Caleb seemed to realize what she meant and instantly concentrated before disappearing entirely. The Tarantula looked confused, unaware of where its prey had gone. Mina took a step forward for momentum and launched her Heaven's Star at the monster. It spun around like a giant boomerang before hitting it's target, the Tarantula's Eye. The second Tarantula aimed it's lasers at her before a blue laser came out of thin air and destroyed it.

Caleb became visible and shot another laser at the Hornet's attacking Emma. He destroyed all three that had been attacking her. Emma followed up on his act and launched her fan at the Krabe that was attacking Annie. Finally, all the monsters were destroyed. All the Lyoko Warriors turned to see Angelo and Jasper fighting each other. The boy/Manta was shooting lasers at the green-haired samurai. The four remaining warriors made their way around Angelo, forming a box that surrounded the boy. Caleb looked up at the Jasper-Manta.

"Jazz! Stop! We've got him surrounded," he told the mutated boy.

The red Manta stopped its attack and lowered its body towards the floor until he was less than three feet above the ground. In less than a second, Jasper was mutated back into his original Lyoko self. They all stood in formation, holding their weapons or raising their hands at him to make sure he didn't get away. The boy seemed to realize that this was not a battle that he could win and stood up vertical, looking straight at Caleb who was obviously the leader in this particular fight.

The blonde male raised an eyebrow at his enemy's steady stare. It was calculating, as if he was heavily considering his options.

"Drop your sword," he said, motioning towards his weapon.

Angelo thought about the action before sighing and dropping his blade to the floor. Caleb lifted his hand, about to take the shot when Angelo lifted his hands up.

"Wait!" he said.

Caleb, hesitated. Surprised that the boy had the courage to speak. The blonde raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?" he asked cautiously.

Angelo took in a deep breath.

"Maybe we can come to an agreement," he suggested.

Caleb raised an eyebrow. He glanced at his comrades uncertainly.

"What agreement?" he asked, staring at him with a dubious look in his eye.

"Your virus program. It failed."

He didn't say it like a question.

"So?" Annie asked.

Angelo turned to look at her.

"I can find a way to give it more power. I can also take you to XANA," he said.

Caleb's eyes widened in surprise.  
"You'd do that? How can we trust you?" he asked suspiciously.

Angelo sighed.

"I've lived my whole life as a slave and I know what XANA plans on doing with the remaining humans that manage to survive the nuclear war. I can not let him do that," he said in a quiet voice.

Caleb looked back and forth between the Lyoko Warriors. Mina and Annie nodded at him while Emma and Jasper just stayed quiet. The young boy sucked in a breath before nodding his head slightly.  
"Fine. But if anything looks funny, I will _not_ hesitate to destroy you. Understand?" he asked.

Angelo nodded.

"I understand."

* * *

A/N: Oh, so do you guys like the new twist? REVIEW IF YOU WANT ME TO FINISH THIS UP! ^_^


	69. Finale: Part 3

A/N: Sorry guys for the late update! This was my entire week: Final Exams, Glee Practice, Glee Competition & Concert, Grandma in the Hospital, Pre-Con and all this other crap going on! I'll try to update earlier this time! I hope I didn't loose you guys!

* * *

Chapter 68

The loud sound of metal doors opening caught Kevin's attention. He turned around in his chair – away from the monitor – and saw Kyo walking out of the elevator with Aaren draped over his back. The younger Stern boy jumped out of his chair and ran over to the two other males. He helped Kyo lay Aaren down. His dark eyes widened at the sight of his best friend all battered up.

"What the hell happened to him?" he asked his brother.

Kyo ran a hand through his hair.

"He got into a fight with a couple of Specters so that your other friends could get to Lyoko quicker. He got hit on the bicep, that's why there's blood all over his arm but it's not as bad as it looks. So don't worry too much about that. When one of the Specter's attacked him, a tree fell on his leg, crushing it. That's why he's so fucked up – pardon my language," the brunette explained.

Kevin's mouth hung open at the story. That wasn't a very common reaction from Kevin Stern. The black-haired boy turned and stared at the blonde boy in amazement when he managed to open his eyes at his friend.

Aaren smirked a little, blood stains on his cheek.

"How much time do we have?" he asked suddenly.

Kevin was speechless for a moment before he started laughing. The laugh was nervous. It was less about humor and more about the feeling that he was befuddled by Aaren's sudden question.

He shook his head at his best friend.

"You're bleeding halfway to death and you're still wondering about Lyoko?" he asked.

Aaren nodded. Kevin looked down at his watch.

"We've got five hours. The others have been fighting monsters for over an hour and they're heading over to find XANA now. Do you think you have the strength to go fight with the rest of them?" he asked.

The blonde looked up at them.

"I'm not trying to sound gay even though I'm a bisexual but do you think you can follow me?" he requested.

Kevin looked uncertain for a moment but then nodded.

"Sure."

He turned to his older brother.

"Can you take care of the super computer while we're gone?" he asked.

Kyo nodded his head.

"I'm pretty sure I know how to run this thing, otouto," he told him as he fell into the seat in front of the super computer.

Kevin wasted no time and quickly placed Aaren's good arm over his shoulder, helping him to his feet. They wobbled awkwardly due to the fact Aaren's injuries hindered him from moving any faster than he could have without them. Instead of just jumping down the ladder, Kevin decided that it was smarter to take the elevator and stepped inside, only loosening his hold on his friend when he had to press the big red button that both closed the heavy, metal door and sent them down to the scanner room.

Kevin turned to look at his friend's wounds.

"I don't know how they could have just left you there," he said quietly.

Aaren smirked and looked between his own wounds and Kevin's whole body.

"It's like we switched places or something. Usually, you're the hero," he told his friend.

The young Stern glared at him.

"I'm serious, Aaren. You've broken your leg and you are bleeding...a _lot_. I should've just taken you to a hospital," he muttered.

The blonde laughed.

"Who are you trying to kid, Kev? You would have done the exact same thing," he answered in an amused tone.

Kevin opened his mouth to speak but closed it when he realized that Aaren was right about that. He turned his head forward and waited for the elevator door to open. When the big contraption finally split apart, Kevin practically dragged the blonde to the scanners. He placed Aaren into the gigantic cylindrical object. He waited until the blonde was stable before backing away.

"Can you stand?" he asked.

Aaren smirked.

"I'm hurt. Not invalid," he said as the doors to the scanner closed.

Kevin quickly got into his scanner and waited for the virtualization process to begin. Kyo placed the head set around his ear and adjusted the microphone.

"Guys, I'm sending you straight to the Carthage Sector. Caleb and the others are heading towards XANA's lair. There's someone else with them, though," he said in a confused tone.

"Yeah, I know. That's Angelo. He's a recent addition to the team. I would've tried to kill him but he's essential to the location of XANA. Although, I already have a hunch," he muttered.

Kyo raised an eyebrow and started up the virtualization process.

…

Damia walked forward. She was standing beside XANA, in front of the Lyoko Core that was right below the 'Doomsday Clock'. It currently read: 4hrs, 46 m34, 12 secs. The teenage XANA had an angry expression on his pale, handsome face. It was twisted and morphed, his lip turned down in a grimace and his knuckles turned white from his tight grip on his sword.

"That idiot! How could he do this to me?" yelled the brown-haired virus interpretation.

Damia looked over at her master as his face became distorted and enraged. She had a blank expression on her face as she spread her wings around her. The young man standing beside her turned his head to her.

"What are you thinking, Damia?" he questioned.

The black-haired female with red highlights cleared her throat.

"He was stupid. Useless. A coward. He took the easy way out, choosing to side with the Lyoko Warriors. My only wish for him? I wish for him to die. I am willing to take care of that job," she said in a freakishly calm yet malicious tone.

XANA raised his dark eyes to her. A smug grin formed onto his lips and he nodded at her.

"That is a good idea. He will not be easy to take out, though. Not now that two more Lyoko Warriors have joined the current group. Angelo is leading them here. I managed to create a labyrinth surrounding the Lyoko Core. Unfortunately, he knows the way here even if there's a maze between him and us. They don't know the way that much. Taking him out will bring us an advantage. The maze was meant to buy time which is what we really need, right now. They can _not_ get to the core before I have time to absorb all of it's power. Can accomplish this deed, Damia?" he asked with a questioning look on his face.

Damia smiled at him. It was a scary smile but one that said everything he wanted to hear.

"Yes, Master."

…

Kevin and Aaren landed on the surface of the Carthage Sector. Aaren stretched his arms and legs.

"Wow, feels good not be bleeding to death. See? Lyoko _is_ good for something!" the blonde rejoiced.

When he turned to look at his friend, he saw that Kevin was running towards his comrades who were standing in front of a giant entrance. The thing looked incredibly like the door to a maze. Caleb had his hand near Angelo's head – the way a killer would hold his hostage. Aaren rolled his eyes and caught up with his friend.

"So what's going on?" he asked his friends.

"AAREN!"

Out of nowhere, the fox-like Lyoko Warrior was attacked by a huge hug from his current girlfriend. He chuckled at her when she pulled back with a big smile on her face.

"I take it that I was missed?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Deeply. Don't you _ever_ try and do that to me, again! Aaren! I was so scared," she told him.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Why were you scared? I'm Aaren Della Robbia. The best goalie in Kadic's soccer team and Lyoko War-"

He was cut off by a big kiss from Mina. The rest of the Warriors – at least – had the decency to look away. After a few moments, Caleb cleared his throat.

"Um. Guys. We need to figure out a solution our current predicament," he said in an embarrassed voice.

Mina and Aaren pulled away and nodded at him with abashed expressions on their faces. Angelo ignored them and stared at Caleb.

"I told you. I do not know how this thing appeared. It's just a way for XANA to slow us down. He needs time to prepare his attack. His plan is to absorb the power of the Lyoko Core – freeing himself from the super computer – and use Damia to hack into the military computers all over the world. He'll just destroy everything but he's using this maze to buy himself some time," he explained.  
Caleb raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"How do we know that you're not leading us into a trap?" he asked warily.

Angelo sighed, his shoulders slumping before he raised his eyes to the young Belpois male.

"Do you want to find Jace and get that thing out of her or not?" he asked seriously.

Caleb's assurance wavered before looking over at Kevin who was sizing up the green-haired samurai.

"Kev? What do you say?" he asked.

Angelo turned his head to stare at the dark-haired male.

_I'm doomed_, he thought to himself.

Kevin surprised everyone with his answer.

"I trust him," he said.

The Lyoko Warriors looked at him like he was crazy. Annie opened her mouth to argue but Kevin silenced her with a glare. He returned his gaze to Angelo.

"He can help us save the world, remember? We should take chances at times like this."

The green-haired Italian blinked at Kevin twice before nodding his head at him in an honorable gesture.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

The young Stern boy fisted his hands so that his spikes stuck out more. They were a lot longer now – about three to four inches in length. Angelo stared at them with a small glimmer of fear in his eyes. The teen boy standing in front of him clearly wasn't planning on being very good friends with him – he was just doing what was best for their current situation.

"Right now, our hopes lie with you. You have my support but if you show any sign of hesitation or try to flip out on us...I don't really care if you can help us or not – you won't have to worry about XANA anymore. That's all I have to say," he answered in a threatening voice.

Each of their spines crawled at the tone of his speech. Kevin wasn't usually this scary but he had gone into full leader mode. He was doing what was best for the group.

Angelo nodded his head, again.

"I understand," he told him, repeating the words he had told Caleb earlier.

Kevin walked towards the labyrinth entrance.

"You'd better," he whispered under his breath as he passed by.

Angelo literally felt his stomach drop to the bottom of his feet. He turned around and started his way into the maze. From his calculations, he led them left, right then left again. He seemed to know what he was doing. Kevin and Caleb were in the middle, right behind Emma and Annie.

The blonde leaned towards his dark-haired friend.

"Do you really think you can trust him?" he asked in a serious tone.

Kevin glanced at his friend's worrisome face. He looked forward at Angelo as he stared forward, confident of his direction. He smirked.

"He'll cut our time of getting to XANA in half and he seems pretty sure of his choice. I think that we can trust him," he whispered into his friend's ear.

Caleb looked back and forth between Angelo and Kevin – no one could hear them thankfully – before sighing. He stretched his fingers out.

"Well, if you trust him then I trust him," he replied in a low voice.

Kevin smiled smugly.

"Don't put all of your trust in him just yet, Caleb. He's a liability. If he shows us that this is some sort of plot, take his head off. Do you get that?" he asked.

The blonde looked at him for a full five seconds before nodding.

"Got it, bro."

* * *

A/N: Think you can find it in your hearts to review? Please?


	70. Finale: Part 4

A?N: Hey, I'm not dead! Uh, I ain't got no excuse for you guys. I just hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 69

Countdown: 4 hrs. 30 min. 57 secs.

The Lyoko Warriors had been running for about fifteen minutes when they finally found an exit. They walked out through the opening and looked around. Above them – at the top of of a sort of staircase, XANA stood there standing next to Damia who was hovering in mid-air with her dark wings spread out. The winged female shifted her gaze to Angelo. It was obvious that she was angry.

"Traitor," she let out in her distorted voice.

The green-haired boy stared right back at her.

"I cannot say that I am sorry, Damia. This was something that I knew, in my heart, was not the right choice. Death and war are the not the answers to everything," he told them.

XANA turned his head down at him.

"I was not planning on killing everyone. Just most of the human population. They are killing the planet – I'm just trying to restore order. Everything is going according to plan. I will _not_ let you ruin all of my hard work because of your 'morals'. You will not ruin my plan!" he bellowed.

"Plans don't always go the way you want them to!" Angelo argued back. "Something might go wrong! How are you going to protect Katerina and her children? Even _you _can't find a way to save them from a nuclear explosion!"

The brown-haired male glared at the samurai for a long while.

"You are fool, Angelo Botticelli. You betrayed me. You have signed your death warrant," he said in a low voice.

XANA closed his eyes for a moment and, suddenly, a huge army of monsters appeared. Nearly a hundred of them materialized out of nowhere, forcing the Lyoko Warriors and Angelo to back away from the door they had come through. Turning around, they had expected to meet the maze once again but instead, they were met with a giant empty room. The color of the walls, ceiling and floor were the same as everything else in the Carthage Sector – dark blue. The Lyoko Warriors ran forward before finding themselves surrounded by Kankrelats, Krabes, Megatanks, Bloks, Mantas, Creepers and Hornets.

From back on Earth, Kyo's eyes widened at the multitude of entities popping up all over the screen. The Warriors were in for one hell of a fight. Suddenly, a thought came to mind and he started typing out codes into the computer.

The young teens all braced themselves as the army closed in on them. It seemed that the Krabes led the land monsters and five Mantas led about fifteen Hornets. They were about twenty meters away from the Warriors.

Kevin cursed under his breath.

"God, how the hell did this happen?" he muttered, unsheathing his spikes.

The rest of his comrades took out their weapons. Angelo brought forward his blade, Emma unfolded her fan, Annie got ready her Energy X's, Jasper's hands grew five times their size, Caleb charged up his laser, Mina pulled out both of her swords and Aaren unsheathed his claws.

The blonde man-fox smirked.

"So we have about eight fighters and there are about a hundred of them. How many each does that give us, Kev?" Aaren asked.

"Twelve...and a half," the young Stern replied immediately.

Caleb grinned.

"Well, looks like we'll have to share," he said in a cool tone.

Kevin's lip lifted at the statement. Angelo, on the other hand, looked at each of them incredulously.

"How can you guys be so cool about this? We are going to get _murdered_!" he shouted.

Mina lifted her hand and slapped him across the face.

"Man up, dude. Besides, we've got Annie," she said.

Angelo gave her a questioning look.

"So?" he asked.

In reply, the pinkette lifted her hands to her temples and let out a soft, high-pitched tune. All of a sudden, the ground from one part of the Carthage Sector shot upwards, taking about a dozen monsters with it and crushed them against the ceiling. After a short pause, which the explosion from the monsters destruction could be heard, the piece of material fell back to the floor. Angelo's face went blank.

"Oh."

"Hey, no fair! She just took out her twelve!" Aaren shouted.

"Guys, I've found something," came a sudden voice.

Kevin continued to stare at the approaching monsters but acknowledged his brother.

"Yeah, Kyo?" he asked.

Instead of replying, there was a sudden appearance of three-dimensional gridding in front of them and there were suddenly three vehicles in front of them. The Overboard, Overbike and Overwing.

Aaren let out a whoop.

"Cool! Where'd they come from?" he asked.

"They used to belong to your parents. Sorry, that's all I have for now. You'll have to share, but it's something," Kyo answered.

Angelo nodded, spreading his wings.  
"I have my own transportation," he said.

Emma concentrated for a second before lifting herself up in the air with her levitation powers. Jasper quickly morphed into a red Manta. Annie turned to look at the nearest monster – which happened to be a Krabe – and let out another high-pitched song. It immediately froze before running towards her and bending on one knee. She quickly got on top of it.

Kevin looked around.  
"So it looks like we have means of moving around quickly during this battle. Aaren, take the skateboard thing and take Mina with you, too. Caleb, use that flying thing. I'll take the bike. Cool?" he asked.

They all nodded. Caleb let out a groan.

"Why do I have the chick thing?" he muttered but jumped on it nonetheless.

Kevin turned to each of his friends before nodding.

"Alright, charge!" he shouted.

Annie, Jasper, Emma and Angelo all floated upwards towards the monsters attacking from the air. Kevin drove forward towards the Krabes and moved under it, only looking up to stab straight through it. He didn't bother to look at it as it exploded as he moved on to the next monster which happened to be a montage of five Bloks. He charged towards it and dodged the lasers they shot towards him. As he passed through, he managed to destroy three of the five Bloks in one swipe of his spiked fists. He stopped, turning around and charging once again.

Aaren had easily taken control of the Overboard. As he maneuvered through the army of monsters, he threw shuriken in every direction. He even managed to hit most of his marks. Mina had joined the ends of her swords together into Heaven's Star and was hurling the joined weapons at her enemies. Every time she threw Heaven's Star, it would hit its target and swerve right back to her like a boomerang.

All in all, the Lyoko Warriors were doing a _lot_ of damage. They paid barely any mind to any injuries caused by any of the monsters' lasers because of their boosted life points. However, no matter how many times they destroyed the monsters, it seemed that the monsters just kept coming. It was, as if, whenever they destroyed ten, twenty more replaced them. Kevin noticed this first and circled around the room until he came to Caleb. The boy looked like he was enjoying himself, dodging shots and shooting lasers at the monsters while he balanced himself on the Overwing.

"Caleb!" Kevin called out.

The blonde noticed his friend and lowered himself until he was near the black-haired boy.

"Hey, bro. Need something?" he asked, shooting yet another laser.

Kevin deflected a shot from a Blok before turning back to Caleb.

"The Special Attacks. With our boosted life points, will they still kill our asses?" he asked, dodging out of the way of a Megatank's laser.

The laser ended up destroying three Kankrelats right behind Kevin. Caleb considered what his comrade had said. Finally, he had an answer.

"Mina, Jasper, Annie and I can use our attacks. Aaren can probably use his attack but his life points will deplete by one hundred points every time he uses it. If Emma uses her attack, it could end catastrophically since she could take us all out with one swipe if she doesn't see us. Your attack, will end up taking up about five hundred points if you use it so it's really dangerous for you to use it, bro," the blonde told Kevin.

The young Stern nodded.

"Kyo, how many life points do we have?" he asked.

Kyo clicked a dew keys and stared at the screen.

"Kevin, 9,600. Mina, 9,800. Aaren, 8,950. Caleb 9,650. Emma, 9,420. Annie, 9,900. Jasper, 9,710," he announced.

The dark-haired boy nodded.

"Alright. When things start getting crazy, that's when we start bringing out the big guns, got it?" Kevin asked the rest of his team mates.

"Yes, sir!"

…

Draco Trevelyan walked out of the Gym, looking around for anything suspicious when he was suddenly face-to-face with none other than the original Lyoko Warriors.

"Ah, the Sterns, Belpois' and Della Robbias. May I ask what you are doing here?" he questioned.

Ulrich glanced at him.  
"We were going to give our kids a surprise visit but we met up and decided to catch up before coming here. Have you seen our children?" he asked.

Draco looked back and forth between their faces before finally deciding on something.

"Follow me," he said, leading them towards the forest.

The group of adults looked back and forth between each other before choosing to follow the teacher.

"May I ask where you are taking us?" asked Jeremy Belpois.

Draco's eyes darted between the dark shadows and the tall trees, making sure no surprise attacks were to come.

"To your children. It's time you found out the truth," he said.

…

Kyo turned around in his chair when he heard the elevator door open. His dark eyes widened in surprise at the amount of people in the contraption. What left him speechless was the appearance of his father and mother. Yumi and Ulrich Stern stared at their first born son before Yumi threw herself at him, Ulrich was not very far behind. Yumi smiled at Kyo and held her face in her hands.

"Kristian! I can't believe you're here! I can't believe it!" she cried.

Ulrich smiled up at his son and Kyo glanced at him uncertainly.

"I-it's good to see you again, son," he said quietly.

Kyo gave him a grin before looking up at the rest of the adults who had entered the room.

"Draco. Why'd you bring them here?" he asked.

The silver-haired man gave him a steady look.

"Face it, we need all the help we can get. And besides, Mr. Belpois here might just have a solution to our little problem with the anti-virus program," he said.

The blonde man stepped forward and threw himself into the revolving chair. He brought up the summary of the program and looked through. He cracked his knuckles.

"I'll just give it a few tweaks and it'll be up and running again in no time," he said.

Kyo raised and eyebrow but did not argue. Instead, he faced Draco.

"I found out where XANA's been operating his plans. If we go there now, we might find out who's helping him," he told the older man.

The teacher nodded. He turned to Ulrich, Yumi and Odd.

"Will you guys follow us? In case we need back up?" he asked.

The three adults nodded. Kyo turned to Aelita.

"What about you, Ms. Belpois?" he asked.

The pink-haired woman smiled at him.

"I'll stay here and help Jeremy out. Two brains work faster than just one," she said.

Kyo nodded and turned to the four older adults.

"Alright, let's go."

Countdown: 3 hours, 52 minutes, 18 seconds

XANA sighed in exasperation, staring at the 'Doomsday Clock' right above the Lyoko Core.

"Great, now the older Lyoko Warriors are helping out!" he cried out.

Damia turned to him.

"We need to launch the attack _now_. Otherwise, they'll defeat you," she told him.

The young, brunette male turned his eyes toward her. He nodded and levitated toward the top of the Core and immediately closed his eyes, concentrating. Damia stared at him in silence. When he opened his eyes, the Eye of XANA had taken over them and the Doomsday Clock disappeared with a faint _BOOM_! Damia fell to her knees but kept her eyes on XANA. Her pupils had been replaced with XANA's symbol. She made no sound as what seemed to be a liquid-like red substance came out from her mouth and made its way into the Lyoko Core. XANA smirked.

_I win_.

…

Jeremy stared at the screen in alarm.

"Caleb?" he called into the microphone.

"Dad?" came his son's voice.

"Yeah, I'll explain later. XANA's launching something _big_. What's going on?" he asked,

Caleb turned to Kevin who nodded his head.

"XANA's started his attack early!" he shouted.

Kevin turned to the rest of the Lyoko Warriors.

"Guys, we need to get to the Core _now_!" he ordered.

Aaren turned to him while he shot a shuriken at a Krabe, destroying it.

"And how do we do that? Too many monsters, here!" he shouted.

Kevin frowned.

"Oblivion!"

**Strategic Weapons Facility Pacific – Bangor, Washington**

A young soldier in a green uniform ran up to the Master Sergeant of the facility.

"Sir, we have a problem," he announced.

The sergeant, a tall man with crew-cut black hair turned to him with a blank face.

"What is it, soldier?" he asked.

"The nuclear weapons are arming themselves and we can't override it! Someone's hacked into the computers!" he told him.

The sergeant's eyes widened, alarmed. He started towards the nuclear weapons command center. The other soldier followed him.

"Get the President on the phone ASAP. Where are the nuclear weapons being aimed at?" he asked.

The soldier sucked in a deep breath before answering.

"China."

* * *

A/N: If you can, please review.


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